Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 408: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the average waiting period for the processing of visa applications to his Department; if there is a system for prioritising them in order of urgency; if there is a backlog in the visa section causing undue delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7845/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The visa section in my Department is committed to providing a high quality service to all its customers and is making every effort to process all visa applications in as timely a manner as possible. The timeframe for processing visa applications has been reduced in recent months and applications generally take a week from the date of receipt in the visa section. This may change from time to time depending on the volume of applications at particular times and the resources available to process them. The visa section has a team-led system to deal with the various categories of visas. Applications are dealt with strictly by date of receipt to have a system in operation which is fair to all our customers. Where urgent visa applications are brought to the attention of the section, every effort is made to facilitate them.