Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 351: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 284 of 8 July 2009, the position regarding same. [37130/09]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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In the context of the Deputy's Question, it is being assumed that the Deputy is seeking an update on the figures provided to him in my Reply to Parliamentary Question No. 284 of Wednesday, 8 July, 2009. Against that background, the updated positions are as set out hereunder. All figures relate to the positions as they applied at 30 September 2009 with all twelve month figures based on the year from 1 October 2008 to 30 September 2009.

At 30 September 2009, 12,904 cases were recorded as awaiting a decision under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) i.e. as to whether a Deportation Order should be made or Leave to Remain in the State granted. However, this figure includes 3,369 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, this application must be determined before consideration can be given to the position in the State of the same person under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended).

The following is the statistical information sought by the Deputy.

(i) Cases finalised between 1 October 2008 and 30 September 2009

(ii) New cases arising between 1 October 2008 and 30 September 2009

The Deputy might note that there is no application process as such in the context of cases arising under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). However, the number of such cases generated in the period in question can be obtained by aggregating the numbers of 'notification of intention to deport' letters issued under all headings within that period. A notification of intention to deport, as provided for under Section 3 (3) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), is issued to a person who has become illegal in the State following the formal refusal of their asylum application or where they have otherwise become 'illegal' e.g. following the expiry of a Work Permit or visa based permission to remain in the State. Any person served with such a notification is invited to (i) leave to State voluntarily, (ii) consent to deportation or (iii) submit written representations setting out reasons as to why they should not have a Deportation Order made against them. The majority of persons faced with these options proceed to submit written representations such representations must be considered before a final decision is made. The Deputy might wish to note that in the context of failed asylum seekers, the option also exists for making an application for Subsidiary Protection which again is availed of in the majority of situations. The following figures relate to the period in question.

As stated previously, it is not possible to provide an average waiting time for the processing of cases arising under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) primarily because no two cases will be the same in terms of their complexity. The Deputy should also note that the consideration of such cases is a hugely resource intensive process given that a wide range of factors have to be considered by the Minister in each individual case.

In terms of efforts being made to speed up processing times, the Deputy can again be assured that strenuous efforts have been made and continue to be made to ensure that such cases are processed as promptly as possible. Towards this end, additional staff members have been deployed to this area and considerable investment has been made in the development of technology required to support the processing of such cases.