Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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103. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of a visa for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27709/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the visa application referred to was received in the Visa Office in Dublin on the 4th of September, 2015.

I am also advised that there has been an exponential increase, since the second quarter of 2015, in the number of such applications. While every effort is made to process these applications within a reasonable time frame, processing times generally will vary having regard to the volume of applications in each processing centre, their complexity and the resources available.

The visa application referred to by the Deputy will be processed in due course.

The Deputy may wish to note that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited .

In addition, applicants may themselves e-mail queries directly to the INIS Visa Office (visamail@justice.ie).