Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who is otherwise occupied.

The current long-term residence scheme operates on an administrative basis. However, one of the most important proposals in the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008 is the introduction of a new, enhanced and statutory long-term resident status. This status will be available to those who have completed at least five years satisfactory residence in the State and can meet certain conditions. These include the requirement the foreign national be of good character, tax compliant, can demonstrate a reasonable competence in the Irish or English language, has made reasonable efforts to integrate and has been supporting him or herself and any dependants without recourse to publicly-funded services.

The Bill also provides a mechanism for a fast track to long-term residence in certain circumstances. It is intended green card holders will be able to apply for long-term residence after two years, by any standards a very generous approach. Long-term resident status will confer rights that approach those of Irish nationals and bring with it access, for the foreign national and his or her qualifying dependants, to the employment market and State-funded services and benefits. The benefits enjoyed by holders of this status are an acknowledgement that, over time, those who migrate to Ireland contribute increasingly to society and to the economy and have earned this status and the stability it brings.

Long-term residency, as an administrative scheme, was introduced in May 2004. It is focused on persons who have been legally resident in the State for more than five years on the basis of work permit, work authorisation or work visa conditions. Such persons may apply to the immigration division of the Department for a five-year residency extension. In that context they may also apply to be exempt from employment permit requirements. The dependants of the aforementioned, who have been legally resident in the State for more than five years, may also apply for long-term residency. However, this long-term permission does not grant an exemption from employment permit requirements to any such dependants. Time spent in the State on student conditions cannot be counted towards long-term residency.

While applications for long-term residency are under consideration, the person concerned should ensure his or her permission to remain in the State is kept up to date. During processing, each application is examined to verify the applicant meets the residency criteria. Should an applicant meet this criteria, a character reference check is then carried out with the Garda Síochána to ascertain if the applicant can be deemed to be of good character. There also may be circumstances in individual cases which require a greater level of investigation than other cases.

The applications received by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service are diverse in nature. Processing times vary considerably according to the nature and circumstances of the scheme in question. In all instances, processing arrangements are kept under ongoing review and steps are taken to reduce waiting times where this is feasible, having regard to available resources and overall priorities. I understand the Department is currently processing applications received in January 2007. This is primarily due to the significant increase in the volume of applications received in recent years.

INIS has allocated some additional resources to the processing of applications for long-term residency and, having regard to the many demands on the service, will keep the resource allocation under review. INIS has taken this step with a view to providing an improved customer service to applicants for long-term residency and, incrementally, an improvement in processing times. I am advised that there are no plans to offer an amnesty to existing applicants for long-term residency.

I understand from cases in my own constituency that there are delays such as this. Yet the number of staff in the Department has probably increased significantly in recent years. Many of them are working on asylum-related cases and perhaps when one section is less busy than another some people might be moved across. Some applicants might end up not qualifying because their initial years here were as students or they did not have qualifying years here. It can be frustrating. It is not a simple process; there is a lot of paperwork involved and it takes time and resources. I presume the Deputy has raised the particular case with the Department directly.