Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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502. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will review the policy of family reunification in order to ensure fairness, equality and justice for the families. [18851/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Cases involving family reunification are considered within our immigration system on their merits. The aim is to achieve an appropriate balance between the legitimate aspirations of the family and the social and economic interests of society at large.

It is my intention to finalise in the coming period a detailed policy document on family reunification both where the sponsor is an Irish national and where he/she is from outside the EEA. Work is well advanced on this and it will include guidelines on all of the main issues including eligibility, dependency, the financial resources necessary to sponsor a dependant and any personal requirements the person seeking entry must meet. The purpose is to update the existing policies in operation and to address any gaps in the current regime in the interests of applicants, practitioners and staff.

Ireland already provides significant possibilities for family reunification and substantial numbers of cases are processed annually. It should also be noted that our existing policies in respect of certain classes of migration, for high skilled workers, researchers, PhD students, entrepreneurs and investors, providing for immediate family reunification of spouse and dependent children, would compare very favourably with many other jurisdictions.