Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy rightly said, a great deal of work is being done but we can always improve the service overall and the timelines for people. We are responding and trying to make these changes while at the same time seeing an increase in the number of applications overall. In 2023, we had over 166,000 visa applications submitted and approximately 140,000 of those were granted. These figures are likely to be surpassed in 2024. For the first seven months of this year alone, there were 123,000 visa applications, which is an increase of 20%. At the same time as the figures are increasing, we are trying to continue to reduce the times. Obviously, there are challenges with this but I think we are making progress.

Visa and preclearance applications provide legal avenues for people coming to Ireland for employment, study, visits, to join those here already, for work and business or for other reasons. The vast majority of visa applications are determined in a matter of weeks. However, some applications, in particular visas to allow people to join family members here, which are the ones people probably come to me most about, can take considerably longer. If it is a join family visa for an Irish citizen, it takes six months, but it can be up to a year for a non-EEA citizen. I appreciate that is far too long for many people. The challenge here is that we are, essentially, undertaking a screening process designed to establish if that person has a legitimate reason to come to Ireland prior to travel. It is also necessary to undertake verification, undergo processes and vetting in other areas too.

In saying that, I have put in place a team tasked specifically in this area with identifying how we can improve and speed up the process and reduce these overall times. Obviously, applications and their times are influenced by several different factors. The length of time taken can vary depending on the type and complexity of applications, the individual circumstances and if it is during a peak application period such as summertime or, especially, the return to school time. Crucially, the quality and completeness of the application lodged can also have an impact. While the waiting times initially may be four or five weeks, if there must then be an appeal, that sets the waiting time back in some instances by three or four months. One thing I know we would all say to anybody putting in an application is to ensure all the application details and information and anything being asked for is provided. I will always, though, endeavour to ensure we will do everything we can to speed up the processes regardless of the type of application.

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