Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 60: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of persons here who took up working holiday visas in 2010 and 2011 under the agreements with Argentina, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the USA, by country; and the allocation of visas for here for each of these countries for 2012. [11993/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Working Holiday agreements are concluded between Ireland and other Governments on a reciprocal basis. For Irish citizens the application is administered directly with the Embassy concerned or through a sponsoring organisation. The table sets out the visa allocation for 2012 and the available information on the number of visas approved in 2010 and 2011. In the case of Australia and New Zealand the programme runs from 1 July to 30 June each year and the figures provided reflect these periods.

The Working Holiday agreement concluded between Ireland and the United States allows those enrolled in or recently graduated from post-secondary education to apply for a visa to work and live in the United States for a period of one year. Allocations under the Working Holiday agreements for each of the countries concerned are reviewed on a regular basis. Allocations remain unchanged with the exception of Canada whose allocation has increased annually from an initial 2,500 to 5,350 places in 2012.