Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 423: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position on a visa application by a person (details supplied); if this application will be re-examined and this person allowed to come here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4642/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The visa application in question was to enable the wife of a non-EEA national employed under the work permit scheme to reside with him in the State. A worker employed under the work permit scheme may be joined by his or her spouse and minor children after the worker has been in the State for one year and has been offered a contract for a further year. The worker must also be able to fully support the family members in question without the need to have recourse to public funds. When assessing applications for family reunification, the visa officer considers, among other things, whether the level of salary of the worker would come within the ambit of qualifying for payments from public funds. As the level of the worker's income in the case in question, as evidenced by his payslips and P60, would qualify for payments from public funds, the application was refused.

The application was refused because the applicant was not able to support his wife fully. The refusals were appealed but the visa appeals officer was unable to conclude, based on the additional evidence supplied, that the initial decisions should be overturned. As each application is entitled to only one appeal, if the applicant still wishes to travel, she should submit a fresh application to my Department with all required accompanying documentation and the visa section will examine the case anew.