Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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506. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the case of persons (details supplied) who do not qualify for the Afghan Admission Programme; if there is a way that they can bring their family to Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3461/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In response to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, I opened the special Afghan Admission Programme for applications on 16 December 2021. Applications will be accepted until 24 February 2022, with up to 500 places available for Afghan family members.

The Programme enables current or former Afghan nationals living legally in Ireland to apply to have certain close family members come to live with them in Ireland.

While the situation in Afghanistan is dire for everyone, we are all acutely aware that some groups face an even greater risk to their freedoms and safety, most especially women, girls and minorities. This has been well documented by multilateral organisations like the UN and civil society organisations that have been working in Afghanistan for many years. For this reason, my Department is prioritising these and other groups for admission. Within families, there will be some members that fall into these higher risk categories and others that don’t. But we will not be breaking up families when we come to consider applications.

Furthermore, it is important to note that all current avenues remain open for new applications, including visa and family reunification applications. The Afghan Admission Programme is additional and complementary to the current suite of immigration schemes and should not be viewed in isolation. Further details in relation to the other avenues available and how to apply can be found on the Irish immigration website (www.irishimmigration.ie).