Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Clune for the opportunity to outline, on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, the numerous positive developments that have taken place with regard to the Irish visa regime since the Government came into power, in particular the developments relating to China.

The available evidence indicates that visitor numbers to here from China grew by 26% last year. Such a significant rise in business would not suggest that there is a major problem with the manner in which the necessary paperwork is processed. The Minister is advised that the checking procedures and processes in place are at least on a par with the United Kingdom, with whom we share a common immigration area, and less onerous than those in place for many other EU member states. Clearly no system is perfect, particularly a system which relies to a large extent on the supporting information supplied in order to risk assess applications. If the Senator has a particular case in mind or has suggestions which would further improve the situation, while at the same time maintain sensible immigration checks, the Minister would be glad to receive them from her.

The commitment of the Government to the facilitation and growth of visits to Ireland from China is shown by the fact that the Irish naturalisation and immigration service of the Department maintains a dedicated visa office in Beijing. This office processed approximately 6,000 visa applications in 2012, with an approval rate of 94% which compares very favourably internationally. Application guidelines for all visa categories are published on the Irish Embassy website in English and Chinese. Chinese nationals who wish to travel to Ireland as tourists have a number of options available when seeking to apply for a visa to Ireland. They can apply as part of an approved destination scheme, ADS, group tour, for an individual tourist visa or for a visit visa, which is normally used for visiting family members. Several measures have been introduced in the past number of years to encourage this type of tourism to Ireland, resulting in an ADS visa being now one of the most straightforward and quickest Irish visas to obtain, with processing times of less than three working days normally.

In recognition of the growing numbers of affluent and independent tourists from China, a scheme to enable independent Chinese travellers to come to Ireland was introduced in November 2011. The category was formally launched by the Taoiseach during the course of his official visit to China in April 2012. The visa application requirements for independent tourists are minimal and I am informed that Tourism Ireland has welcomed this initiative. This category of visa application is processed within 10 working days.

As a further demonstration of our commitment to the Chinese market, the Government launched, with effect from 1 July 2011, the first ever Irish short-stay visa waiver programme. The programme was designed to boost tourism and business, especially from emerging markets, and it applies to holders of UK short-stay visas from 17 selected countries, including China. It also allows tourists in possession of a UK visa to travel on to Ireland without the need to apply for a separate Irish visa. The Government decided in March 2012 to extend the programme until the end of October 2016. This programme has led to a significant growth in the number of visits to Ireland from China. According to Central Statistics Office figures, in the 12 months following its introduction, the number of trips from China increased by over 26%, from 12,314 to 15,572, an extra 3,258 visits.

This demonstrates the positive impact of the Government?s initiative. In addition, with effect from 1 August 2012, a more liberal multi-entry visa regime for Chinese business travellers and regular family visitors was implemented. This regime compares favourably with the approach taken by our nearest competitors. For example, it allows qualifying businessmen to get a three-year multi-entry visa for ¤100, which compares with the $180 charge imposed by the USA for the same duration. All of these initiatives demonstrate that the Government is pursuing an ongoing and creative approach to the development of a visa system that facilitates tourists who wish to come from China to Ireland, rather than putting obstacles in their way. I agree with the Senator that we must insist on getting our share of the huge market emerging in China. We must not put obstacles in the way of Chinese people who wish to visit this country.