Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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497. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff assigned to the regularisation scheme for undocumented people from the scheme's inception to date, in tabular form. [33877/23]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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498. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide a timeline for when the regularisation scheme for undocumented people will complete its work; and the number of applications within the scheme that have not yet been completed. [33878/23]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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555. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the expected processing times for remaining undocumented scheme applications; and the staffing numbers in the scheme unit from the start of the scheme to date. [34391/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 497, 498 and 555 together.

As the Deputy is aware, this once in a generation scheme was designed to give long-term undocumented residents the opportunity to regularise their status, access the labour market legally and begin their path to citizenship. It has provided an opportunity for those who meet its criteria to remain and reside in the State and to become part of mainstream Irish society rather than living on its margins.

I am pleased to advise the Deputy that 87% of all applications under this hugely successful and impactful scheme have been processed since it opened last year.

In total, 6,548 applications were submitted in respect of 8,311 people under the scheme. Of these 5,654 (86%) were Single Applications and 894 (14%) Family Applications. As of 03 July 2023, 4,617 applications have been granted, 1,002 applications have been refused, and 118 applications have been withdrawn by the applicants for various reasons.

The remaining applications are in the main more complex cases and it is not possible to provide a definitive timeframe for when all cases will be finalised, although every effort is being made to do so without undue delay. Each application received is assessed individually in accordance with the published criteria, available on my Department's immigration website.

While every effort is made to process applications as soon as possible, processing times will vary having regard to the complexity of applications, whether it is a single or family application, the supporting documentation, the vetting process with An Garda Síochána, the possible need for the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) function of my Department to seek further information, and the resources available.

The International Protection strand of the Scheme attracted over 3,240 applications. By 29 June, 2023, some 1,596 applicants had been granted a permission under the Scheme while, during the lifetime of the Scheme, a further 1,102 Scheme applicants were granted an equivalent, or higher order of, immigration permission.

With regard to resources, I can advise the Deputy that when the scheme first opened to applications on 31 January 2022, there were 17 staff members assigned to the dedicated unit. The highest number of staff assigned to the unit at any one time was 21.

The scheme closed on 31 July 2022, and the dedicated unit closed eight months later at the end of March 2023. Since then, remaining decisions and appeals under the scheme are being processed by Domestic Residence and Permissions (DRP) division which operates a flexible staffing model, assigning processing staff flexibly in line with the real-time needs of the business. Applications are processed by Unit A of DRP, and, as at end June 2023, there were 10 staff members directly involved in the processing of the scheme.

DRP Staff Assigned to Undocumented Scheme as at 30 June 2023: