Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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496. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he can assist a person (details supplied) with a family reunification from Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10815/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The person referred to made an application to the Afghan Admission Programme which was received by my Department on 25 February 2022. I 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 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.

Processing of this application is ongoing at present.

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 31 December 2022. The total number of approvals under this Programme up to 3 March 2023 is 286 and to date, no refusal letters have been issued. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application in the coming months.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie) 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 is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.