Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons currently in the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43868/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The whole-time equivalent (FTE) staffing level of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) which includes the asylum determination and direct provision agencies of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC), the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT) and the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) stands at 565. The corresponding FTE figure at the end of 2008 was 740 which represents a reduction of over 23% in staff numbers working on immigration related functions.

Through efficient and effective redeployment of staff and operating within the terms of the Croke Park Agreement, INIS has been able to absorb this reduction in overall staff numbers while maintaining a balanced and appropriate level of staff resources in priority areas. For example, since the end of 2008 the total number of staff assigned to the asylum determination bodies (ORAC and RAT) has been reduced by over 50% reflecting the decreasing number of new asylum applications. However, other areas of INIS have experienced huge increases in application volumes, particularly in the citizenship and EU Treaty Rights areas where new applications per year have significantly increased and in some instances, this has more than doubled.

In addition, a number of staff of INIS have been allocated to certain immigration functions in Dublin Airport as part of the pilot project to assign civilian staff to border control duties thus freeing up Gardaí for operational duties. Further significant civilianisation and replacement of Gardaí in this area is also planned.