Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 282: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the average waiting time to process renewal of temporary leave to remain in the State under the Irish born child 2005 scheme; the number of applications awaiting a decision; the number received, approved and rejected in the past 12 months; the steps he is taking to speed up the processing time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28220/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I wish to inform the Deputy that 14,254 applications for renewal of permission to remain in the State under the IBC/05 Scheme have been received in my Department since 1 January, 2007. To date 97 of these applications were refused, 18 are currently outstanding as further investigation is required, and the remainder have been granted renewed permission to remain in the State for a 3 year period.

I should add that as the closing date for receipt of applications for leave to remain under the IBC/05 Scheme was 31 March, 2005 and given that permission to remain under that scheme was initially granted for a period of two years, the majority of the applications for renewal were processed before end December, 2007. Applications were generally processed within three weeks of receipt of an application.

Precise figures for the number of renewal applications dealt with by my Department in the past 12 months are not readily available, but I would point out that such applications represent a small proportion of the overall figure received.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 283: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the average waiting time to process renewal of temporary leave to remain in the State under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended; the number of applications awaiting a decision; the number received, approved and rejected in the past 12 months; the steps he is taking to speed up the processing time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28221/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Applications for renewal of Leave to Remain in the State are founded on the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). Under these provisions, persons who have been residing in the State under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) are required to apply to the Minister for renewal of such permission before their current period of permission expires.

All such applications for renewal of Leave to Remain have to be considered on their individual merits in order to ascertain whether the person has complied with the conditions of their Leave to Remain. This includes the necessary checks with outside agencies. The average waiting time for the processing of such applications is 1 to 3 months. Given that outside checks are necessary during this process the time frame involved in processing such applications is considered to be reasonable.

The Deputy can be assured that strenuous efforts have been and continue to be made to ensure that applications in respect of this matter are processed as promptly as possible. Additional staff have been deployed to the area and considerable investment has been made in the development of technology required to support the processing of such applications. The Deputy might wish to note that statistical data is not available for the renewal of Leave to Remain in the State, primarily as it is recorded electronically as a further grant of leave to remain and therefore cannot be recorded as a stand alone procedure.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 284: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the average waiting time to process applications for temporary leave to remain in the State under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended; the number of applications awaiting a decision; the number received, approved and rejected in the past 12 months; the steps he is taking to speed up the processing time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28222/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Applications for leave to remain in the State are considered on their individual merits under the eleven separate headings set out in Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended).

Each case is considered individually and regardless of whether or not written representations are submitted by, or on behalf of, the applicant. Following a detailed examination of each individual case, including a consideration having regard to Section 5 of the Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended) on the prohibition of refoulement, a recommendation is made as to whether a Deportation Order should be issued or temporary Leave to Remain in the State granted.

At present, 14,131 such cases are recorded as awaiting decision. However, this figure includes around 3,158 cases where applications for Subsidiary Protection in the State have been submitted by the same persons. Where an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State has been submitted in addition to an application for leave to remain, the Subsidiary Protection application must first be considered.

Indications are that many of those whose cases are still awaiting decision may already have left the State without notifying my Department of their having done so while others will have submitted other applications for residency e.g. applications for permission to remain in the State on the basis of their marriage to an Irish or EU National. Decisions on these applications must be finalised before their applications for leave to remain in the State can be finalised.

The Deputy will appreciate that the consideration of applications for leave to remain in the State is a resource intensive process. It is not, however, possible to provide an average waiting time for the processing of such applications, primarily because no two applications will be the same in terms of their complexity. The Deputy can be assured that strenuous efforts have been and continue to be made to ensure that applications are processed as promptly as possible. Additional staff have been deployed to the area and considerable investment has been made in the development of technology required to support the processing of such applications. The following table sets out the other statistical information requested by the Deputy.