Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will clarify when a visa will issue to a person (details supplied) who hopes to travel to Ireland to bring their sister, who is very unwell, back to the Phillipines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48437/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The person in question has not yet lodged the necessary supporting documentation for their application with the Consulate General for Ireland in Manila. Until the signed Declaration, supporting documents and appropriate fee are lodged in the Consulate, the Visa application cannot be processed. However, given the circumstances of the case, I will arrange for the Consulate to be contacted by the Visa office in Dublin in order that processing of the visa application can be expedited.

All information/supporting evidence that it is wished to have taken into consideration with the application should be included when the visa application is submitted. It should be borne in mind however, that the provision of the suggested evidence in no way guarantees that a visa will be granted. Furthermore, it does not limit the discretion of the visa officer in dealing with individual applications.

I should remind the Deputy that queries in relation to the status of individual Immigration cases may also be made direct to INIS by Email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. The service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek this information through the more administratively expensive Parliamentary Questions process.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the plans, if any, he has to implement the recommendation of the report by Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation entitled A review of the ICT skills demand in Ireland, seeking the introduction of a Technology Visa for IT professionals to address the present temporary skills shortage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47216/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I would refer the Deputy to my answers to previous Parliamentary Questions on this issue. My most recent reply to Parliamentary Question 42802/12 on 9 October last is reproduced for the Deputy's information.

While I am not averse in principle to the establishment of an immigration regime specifically geared to the technology sector, it would have to be on the basis that there was concrete evidence of a particular skills deficit in the labour market that cannot be filled by Irish or EU citizens. That labour market assessment would ultimately be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Jobs Enterprise and Innovation. In this regard it should be borne in mind that the technology sector spans a broad range of skills with differing levels of supply and demand.

I would also envisage that applicants for any such programmes would be subject to a rigorous assessment of their qualifications and experience to ensure that their skill sets are appropriate for the sector in question.

In any event, the existing visa application arrangements are entirely flexible and designed to cater for the widest possible range of applicants who may wish to come here as workers, visitors, professionals and so forth.

While I appreciate that the term "Technology Visa" is in common usage in respect of this issue, that description is somewhat misleading. In reality what we are talking about here are employment permits and any person who is successful in obtaining such a permit can reasonably expect to be granted immigration status on foot of it. My Department and the Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation are also working together to see how our collective processes can be streamlined.