Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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561. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Afghan programme refugees who were admitted in 2022; and if he will provide a quarterly breakdown of those numbers. [4299/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I understand that the Deputy has clarified that this question relates to the Afghan Admissions Programme rather than Afghan Programme refugees.

I am conscious that this is a difficult situation for our Afghan community and their loved ones and would like to take this opportunity to assure them that my Department is processing applications under the Afghan Admissions Programme as quickly as possible.

To ensure as many people as possible can avail of this important programme my Department has been liaising with representatives of the Afghan Community and with applicants directly to ensure the Afghan Admission Programme team have everything needed to progress applications. Where applicants are missing important information, such as proof of identity and familial relationships, the Afghan Admission Programme Unit contacted people directly to gather the required documents. This process is now complete. The requested information has begun to be received and applications continue to be assessed in a pragmatic and humanitarian manner.

My Department commenced issuing decisions in the last quarter of 2022. Approvals issued in respect of 81 beneficiaries under the Afghan Admissions Programme up to the 31st of December 2022. So far in 2023 a further 19 decisions have been made, bringing the number of decisions to date to 100. It is not known how many of those beneficiaries have actually travelled to the State. To date no refusal letters have issued.  

It should be noted that the Afghan Admission Programme is not the only avenue for Afghan nationals to come to Ireland. Since the beginning of August 2021 to 28 November 2022, a total of 142 ‘join family visas’ have been approved for Afghan nationals and 104 family reunification applications have also been approved.

A significant number of Afghan people have also been allocated places under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP), which is under the remit of the Department of Children, Equality. Disability, Integration and Youth. My Department provides the visas to facilitate their travel to Ireland and almost 600 visa waiver letters have been issued to date.