Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to raise the issue of visa processing times. I am conscious in doing so of the importance of the process. The process cannot be compromised. A visa is a very important document, enabling foreign nationals to enter our country. First, I want to raise the issue of the atypical visa and the serious delays in the processing time. As we know, it is a requirement for nurses coming to work in Ireland. I want to take this opportunity to welcome a number of retired nurses from my constituency who are visiting the Dáil today and are in the Gallery. When one goes onto the Department's website and inquires about an atypical visa, the turnaround time is 20 working days. We have read recent reports in the national papers that up to 850 nurses are coming from overseas who are affected by this. Without our overseas nurses, our health service would be in a much sadder situation. They provide such an important role in our health service.

Recently, I met a nursing home group which has a base in my constituency. It advises me that they have up to a dozen applications for this visa waiting for 80 days at a time where online sources state it is a 20-day turnaround. This only began in March. Prior to that, the group said there was minimal disruption. Since March, however, there have been significant delays and inconsistencies in processing applications. Reasons for refusal include the metadata of documents submitted. Maybe the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, might be able to advise me, if the Department of Justice has advised her, about what the metadata of submitted documents is. Sometimes they seek clarification from the atypical visa office and there has been no feedback of any kind. Another reason for refusal is the missing middle name in one document. The inconsistency in the application of these documents is causing a huge difficulty.

Nurses have come here. They have given notice in their home countries. They have made life-changing decisions. The bureaucracy here is having a huge impact on their life-changing decisions. I recently met a constituent who is married to a non-Irish national. I do not want to identify countries involved because it is a private matter. I acknowledge that the embassy I am dealing with is most helpful. He is trying to get his wife over to visit him here when he comes to Ireland. He has spent 12 months going through a process to get his wife to visit him and, again, it is not being processed.

What is the issue with the processing times of the atypical visas? I have given another example, of a private citizen looking for a visa for his wife to visit. Again, there seems to be a prolonged period to have that application processed, and it was subsequently refused. We know of the recent decision to discontinue the immigrant investor programme, which brings much-needed funding into many community groups throughout the country. Is the Department of Justice immigration section understaffed, under-resourced or what is going on that has caused so many problems with various visa processes, particularly in recent months?

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