Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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110. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he has considered the rights of the child in devising barriers to family reunification; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68246/25]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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132. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he has considered whether raising the income limits for family reunification will worsen labour shortages in critical areas like healthcare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68249/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 110 and 132 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, last week Minister O’Callaghan and I announced a number of new policies and legislative changes to strengthen Ireland’s migration and asylum system.

We published the review of the non-EEA Family Reunification Policy, which has remained largely unchanged since 2013, and sets out how Irish citizens and most non-EEA Irish residents may apply to bring non-EEA family members to live with them in Ireland. The majority of these changes took immediate effect, with longer term measures to be introduced as soon as operational considerations allow.

The policy limits family reunification to immediate family members only.

I can advise the Deputy that the income requirements for healthcare workers on General Employment Permits remain unchanged. They must have a gross income in excess of €30,000 in the previous year to sponsor a spouse or partner, and a gross income in excess of €44,300 to sponsor one child. The income thresholds, as before, are indexed against the Working Family Payment (WFP) based on the number of children a sponsor wishes to bring. This means that the threshold to sponsor one child will rise to €50,200 in January 2026. For such applicants, the requirement to produce financial records has reduced from two years to one year, to align with the existing one year waiting period.

An important consideration in all family reunification applications is the ability of the sponsor to demonstrate a clear capacity to provide for their family members if they are to be granted a permission to come to Ireland. New conditions will also be introduced as soon as operational considerations allow to ensure sponsors have suitable private accommodation for their family before they arrive in Ireland.

The purpose of the revised Policy is not to deter people from integrating or making applications, but to ensure that people who are sponsoring an application have sufficient resources to provide for their family, without the reliance on state funds. The policy also aims to ensure that the needs and welfare of children are considered when determining the eligibility of a sponsor.

The revised policy can be accessed on my Departments website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/publications/revised-non-eea-family-reunification-policy-and-final-report-on-the-review-of-the-policy/.