Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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100. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the numbers of D join family visas refused for visa applicants applying from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Yemen to join family members here in 2016 and to date in 2017 by country in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7752/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Applications for D Join family visas are processed in accordance with the guidelines set out in my Department's Policy Document on non-EEA Family Reunification published in December, 2013. Each visa application is decided on its own merits taking all relevant factors into account.

As with all visa services worldwide, the central concern in deciding on visa applications is to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the country's vital national interests by maintaining an effective immigration regime while at the same time not placing unnecessary or unreasonable obstacles in the way of intending visitors.

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service of my Department that the number of “join family” visas refused for nationals from the countries referred to is set out in the following table.

As the Deputy will be aware the Government is committed to taking up to 4,000 persons into Ireland under the International Refugee Protection Programme. Taking account of the situation in the Middle East, and the plight of the refugees, I announced that Ireland would accept 520 persons for resettlement over an 18-month period to the end of 2017. This was almost double the figure proposed for Ireland by the European Commission and was delivered a year ahead of the Commission deadline. In addition, the Government recently announced that it is extending the resettlement programme to take in a further 520 refugees from Lebanon in 2017, most of whom are of Syrian origin. 260 refugees have already been selected during a selection mission to Lebanon in October 2016 and are expected to arrive in Spring 2017. Most of these refugees are also Syrian. A further selection mission to Lebanon will be arranged in the coming months to select the remaining refugees due to come to Ireland in 2017 under the resettlement programme.

In relation to the EU Relocation Programme, Ireland has to date taken in 241 people from Greece. In November, IRPP officials travelled to Athens and interviewed a group of 84 people who once cleared for travel, are expected to arrive over the next two weeks. An IRPP mission to interview 80 people took place in Athens from 12 – 16 December. A further mission has already taken place in January which interviewed 61 people. An IRPP team are currently on the ground in Athens interviewing another group of over 90 asylum seekers. The intention thereafter is to sustain the pace of intakes throughout 2017 at the levels required to allow Ireland to meets its commitments to Greece within the time frame envisaged by the Programme.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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101. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of visa applications made pursuant to Directive 2004/38EC from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Yemen which have been pending for six months or longer by country in tabular form; the numbers refused in 2016 and to date in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7753/17]

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 information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table.

More generally, the Visa Office is currently experiencing delays in processing such applications due to the large volumes of applications of this type received particularly since the second quarter of 2015. Legal proceedings in relation to a number of similar such applications are currently before the courts, and accordingly, the Deputy will appreciate that I am somewhat limited in what I can say on the matter. However, I can say that there has been an exponential increase in the number of such applications and with it increasing concerns around potential abuse of the Directive in relation to such cases. This has given rise to a current caseload in the region of 10,500 applications overall which have to be assessed very carefully to ensure that any fraudulent applications or potential abuses of the Directive are detected and dealt with appropriately.

While every effort generally is made to process these applications as soon as possible, processing times will vary having regard to the volume of applications, their complexity, the possible need for the Visa Office to investigate, enquire into, or seek further information in relation to certain applications, and the resources available. The State has an obligation in that regard to take into account the overall integrity of its immigration system in dealing with applications.