Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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184. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if additional resources have been provided to process applications for permission to remain under the special scheme announced on 15 October 2018 in response to the decision of the Supreme Court in cases (details supplied); the length of time these applications will take; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51010/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that additional staff resources have been assigned to process applications currently being received under the Special Scheme for Students launched in October, arising from the judgement in the cases referred to by the Deputy.

INIS has taken a number of measures to address the cohort of complex cases associated with the judgments and the Scheme including the introduction of an on-line application facility for the Scheme to make it as streamlined as possible for applicants. The resources available for these activities, which includes the provision of overtime, and the accompanying operational and organisational structures, are kept under ongoing review to ensure that applications are processed as efficiently as possible.

The Deputy will appreciate that it is necessary to process applications affected by the judgments in compliance with legal requirements and in accordance with the Scheme criteria. While every effort is made to process applications as soon as possible, processing times will vary having regard to the overall volume of applications and their complexity.