Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of questions on the final part of Mr. Kirrane's statement. He mentioned the number of applications and the delay in processing them. I represent a constituency where many people have applied for various types of visas, citizenship and so on. Have efforts been made to beef up the number of staff working in the unit? I acknowledge Mr. Kirrane's comment that he is trying to increase staff numbers. People applying for family reunification and citizenship are extremely frustrated. I appreciate that due process applies. Will Mr. Kirrane outline how he aims to improve timelines over the next 12 months and give greater certainty to applicants? I appreciate the feedback he has given me and other public representatives, which is obviously limited to information supplied with applications. It would be good if we could give certainty to people by providing a timeline by which the Department will improve response times.

I am aware from replies to parliamentary questions that there has been a spike in the number of applications made at embassies, for example, in New Delhi in India. I ask Mr. Kirrane to comment on the difficulties being experienced. I know of people who are genuinely working here who have made bona fide applications to bring their spouses here. Obviously the unit will have received applications that might not be bona fide and I realise that the unit must try to strike a balance. I ask him to outline a plan to improve response times and give certainty to applicants. The same applicants keep contacting me to find out if there has been progress with applications. This is very difficult for them and us, as public representatives. It would be helpful to give them a timeline for the completion of the process.