• Visa applications will now be accepted for essential family reunification

• Applications also accepted from people who have been granted an employment permit and are travelling for essential business or employment purposes

20 May 2021

The Minister for Justice, Heather Humphreys TD, and the Minister of State for Law Reform, Youth Justice and Immigration, James Browne TD, have today announced that two new categories have been added to the priority/emergency list of visas being processed at this time. 

Visa applications will now be accepted from people who are seeking to join their family members in Ireland, and from those who are travelling for essential business or employment purposes and have been issued with an employment permit by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Announcing the changes, Minister Humphreys said,

“Throughout the pandemic, measures on travel taken by the Government have sought to balance the urgent need to protect public health with the need to facilitate essential travel and to sustain connectivity into and out of Ireland. We remain fully supportive of the general policy against non-essential travel.

“However, we also recognise that the travel restrictions have been difficult for everyone involved, and we are now making some small adjustments to support essential family reunification and essential business needs.” 

“From today, we will resume processing all Long Stay ‘D’ Visa join family applications and preclearance applications, including for De Facto Partners of Irish Nationals, and Critical Skills Employment Permit Holders. I know that this news will come as a welcome relief to the families who will benefit from these new arrangements”.

“There is welcome news too for businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic. Applications will also be accepted from people who have been granted an employment permit and are travelling for essential business or employment purposes.”

Outlining the new arrangements for employment permit holders, Minister Browne said,

“Expanding the priority categories to include people granted employment permits by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment gives a key signal to employers that Ireland remains open for business. 

“As we begin to reopen our economy, it is more important than ever that we support business endeavours. As Minister of State for Immigration, I want to ensure that we are playing our part in achieving this.

“These measures were introduced on public health grounds for the safety of all. However, I fully appreciate how difficult it is to be separated from family or loved ones at this time, and I hope that today’s announcement will bring comfort and relief to those who have been affected.”

The decision to temporarily cease accepting new visa/preclearance applications, with the exception of priority or emergency applications, applies to all countries and has been in place since 29 January 2021. No short stay visa applications are currently being accepted, except for cases that fall under the Emergency/Priority criteria.

All travellers arriving into Ireland must continue to comply fully with the public health measures required by law, including completing a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form, pre-arrival PCR test and quarantine in a designated facility or at home, as appropriate.   

The situation will continue to be reviewed in consultation with the relevant authorities in the coming weeks.

ENDS…/

Notes for Editors:

The Priority/Emergency cases that will continue to be accepted and processed include the following:

• People travelling for business/employment purposes and granted an employment permit by Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment to meet an enterprise’s key business;

• patients travelling for imperative medical reasons;

• transport workers or transport service providers, including drivers of freight vehicles carrying goods for use in the territory as well as those merely transiting;

• pupils, students and trainees who travel abroad on a daily basis and Third-country nationals travelling for the purpose of 3rd level study;

• Join Family applications;

• Preclearance applications from De Facto Partner of an Irish National, De Facto Partner of a Critical Skills Employment Permit Holder, or of a non EEA Researcher on a Hosting Agreement and Family members looking to join a UK National in Ireland;

• persons travelling for imperative family or business reasons;

• Persons entitled to avail of the provision of the EU Free Movement Directive;

• diplomats, staff of international organisations and people invited by international organisations whose physical presence is required for the well-functioning of these organisations, military personnel and police officers, and humanitarian aid workers and civil protection personnel in the exercise of their functions;

• passengers in transit;

• seafarers;

• journalists, when performing their duties.

People seeking to join family members will include all Long Stay ‘D’ Visa join family applications (including third country national family members of Irish nationals and persons exercising free movement under the EU Directive), and Preclearance applications for: De Facto Partners of an Irish National; De Facto Partners of a Critical Skills Employment Permit Holder, or of a non EEA Researcher on a Hosting Agreement; and non EEA family members looking to join a UK National in Ireland.

The framework for the restrictive travel measures is set out in the Government’s Resilience and Recovery: Plan for Living with COVID-19. When making such decisions, the Government considers the expert public health advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) to tackle the disease. The Department intends to resume accepting all applications as soon as safety concerns abate.

There is news in relation to the Workplace Rights Commission (WRC) that will cause possibly very long delays in cases lodged with them.

A recent decision by the Supreme Court means that there are changes needed to be made to the WRC system, one of which in particular is going to take a long time to resolve.

Until all three problems have been fixed, there will be no new hearings.

https://irishlegal.com/article/workplace-relations-commission-may-be-unable-to-hear-cases-for-months-to-come

·         Appointments for first time registrations will recommence

·         Initial appointments will be for customers who had previous appointments cancelled

·         New Customer Service Helpdesk recently launched

6 May 2021

The Minister of State for Law Reform and Immigration, James Browne, TD, has today announced that the Immigration Service’s Registration Office in Burgh Quay will reopen for customers living in the Dublin area on Monday 10 May. The reopening is in line with the new public health measures in the Government’s Resilience and Recovery Plan for Living with COVID-19.

Making the announcement, Minister Browne said:

“The COVID-19 restrictions have been difficult for everyone in the country, including our migrant communities. I am delighted to confirm that the reopening of the Public Office means that first-time registrations can take place again from Monday.

“We will be prioritising our customers who had their appointments cancelled when the Office closed in December under Level 5 restrictions and we will contact them directly over the coming days to arrange their new appointment dates.

“All other first time registrations will be carried out by appointment only and the online appointments system is also now open to accept bookings.”

First time registrations cannot be done online because the person needs to have their photograph and their fingerprints taken during the registration process. Members of the public who need to register an immigration permission for the first time can book an appointment online from today, Thursday 6 May athttps://burghquayregistrationoffice.inis.gov.ie

While waiting to register in the Dublin area, customers are covered by the extension of immigration permissions to 20 September 2021. This means that all those legally in the State in March 2020 when the pandemic began can remain in the State until 20 September.

Registrations outside of the Dublin area are processed by the Garda National Immigration Bureau through the Garda Station network. 

Customers in the Dublin area who want to renew their immigration permissions can continue to do so online at https://inisonline.jahs.ie

A new Customer Service Helpdesk for the Registration Office was also recently launched. This will allow for better management of customer queries and deliver faster response times. Customer queries on registering a permission, renewing a permission and re-entry visas can now be made to[email protected] 

Further details can be found on the Immigration Service website www.inis.gov.ie along with a Frequently Asked Questions document.

ENDS…/

Notes for editors

To ensure the safety of all customers and staff, nobody will be permitted to enter the Registration Office unless they have an appointment.

Non-EU/EEA and non-Swiss nationals who want to stay in Ireland for longer than 90 days must register their immigration permissions with immigration authorities.

·         Initiative will support victims of trafficking and exploitation in rebuilding their lives

·         Expungement of over 600 convictions a significant step in recognising and responding to the needs of vulnerable victims

25 April 2021

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, today announced an initiative to expunge previous convictions for ‘sale of sex’, or prostitution offences. This is a significant step in recognising and responding to the needs of victims of sex trafficking, and those forced to provide sexual services. 

It is generally recognised that prostitution is inherently exploitative of vulnerable persons, mainly women and girls, and that many people are forced into prostitution through trafficking, drug addiction, homelessness and poverty.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 removed those who offer their services as a prostitute from the existing offences of soliciting for the purpose of prostitution and criminalised the purchase of sex. This was done to provide additional protection to people involved in prostitution, especially those who are vulnerable and victims of human trafficking.

While it has not been an offence to sell sex in Ireland since 2017, for those who have succeeded in exiting prostitution, previous convictions can be a significant obstacle as they attempt to move on with their lives.

Minister McEntee said,

“I hope this initiative will bring some relief to those who are looking to leave that aspect of their lives behind.

“Given what we know about the levels of exploitation and human trafficking in the sex trade, it is very likely that many of those convicted in the past fall into the exploited category for a number of reasons, including because they were victims of trafficking. These vulnerable victims should also benefit from the legislative change regarding the sale of sex and be able to move forward and rebuild their lives. 

“Officials in my Department will be drafting the necessary legislative amendments to provide for the expungement.”

The focus of the law dealing with prostitution shifted in 2017 when new legislation criminalising the purchaser of sex - rather than the seller - came into effect.

The intention is that this proposed new expunging provision will be expressly limited to those convicted under section 7 or 8 of the Act of 1993 on the basis they were offering their services as a prostitute to another person.

In total, An Garda Síochána have identified 607 convictions to be expunged.

This comprises 402 convictions recorded for soliciting or importuning for the purposes of prostitution, contrary to section 7 and 205 convictions for loitering for the purposes of prostitution – failing to comply with a direction of a Garda, contrary to Section 8. 

An Garda Síochána are satisfied that there are no other underlying or related offences involved in these cases that would caution against expungement.

The Minister concluded,

“The erasing of all such convictions, and the expunging of the resulting criminal records, will send an immensely important message to those in the sex trade.

“It will firmly assert our national policy position that the focus of An Garda Síochána’s attention is not directed towards those in the sex trade, who are exploited and victimised, but rather towards those who are responsible for exploiting them and those who purchase and demand services.”

Ends…

Note for editors

Part 4 (sections 25 to 27) of the Criminal Justice (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 criminalises the purchase of sexual services in the context of prostitution while removing those who provide sexual services through prostitution from the existing offences of soliciting or loitering for the purpose of prostitution. The Minister is now looking to expunge previous convictions under sections 7 and 8 of the Act of 1993 as they no longer apply to a person offering his or her services as a prostitute. 

http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/PR21000101

• Consultation to begin on the terms of the scheme, with final government approval expected in September

• Outline proposals, which will be subject to consultation, envisage scheme opening to those in the State for four years without a valid immigration permission

• Successful applicants will receive immigration permission, access to the labour market and can begin path to citizenship

• Undocumented scheme will open by the end of 2021

23 April 2021

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD has today announced her draft proposals for a scheme to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants in Ireland.

Opening the scheme by the end of the year is a key part of Minister McEntee’s Justice Plan 2021, and this week she updated Cabinet on her proposed approach, ahead of consultation with stakeholders.

The final terms of the scheme are subject to the consultation process. The Minister’s initial proposals envisage that eligible people would:

• Have a period of 4 years residence in the State without an immigration permission, or 3 years in the case of those with children;

• Be granted an immigration permission that allows for unrestricted access to the labour market; and

• Have years of residence with that permission reckonable for the purposes of pursuing citizenship by way of naturalisation

Minister McEntee said:

“There are thousands of people across the country who have created a life here but unfortunately still live in the legal shadows. They are active members of our communities: contributing to our society, enriching our culture and working in our economy.

“I firmly believe that we in Ireland must show the same generosity towards undocumented migrants living in our country as we ask other countries, particularly the United States, to show Irish people who have built a life elsewhere but who are still undocumented in their new homes. 

Minister McEntee and James Browne TD, the Minister of State for Law Reform, James Browne, will hold an information webinar with NGOs, civil society, employer organisations, trade unions and other key stakeholders on Monday, April 26th,  on the proposed Regularisation Scheme for long-term Undocumented Migrants.

Speaking ahead of this engagement, Minister McEntee said:

“There is now an opportunity for key stakeholders to have their say on the proposed criteria and how they can be applied in practice. People who are in an undocumented situation live on the margins of our society and unfortunately may be more vulnerable to exploitation due to their precarious legal situation. 

“The support of key organisations working directly with people and families who find themselves in these circumstances will be crucial to encouraging people to come forward and participate when the Scheme opens.”

“I look forward to engaging with all key stakeholders to present our plans and to hear their views as we consider the final criteria to be included under the Scheme. Their valuable insights will help us to achieve our goal of providing a scheme to cover every eligible undocumented person and their family members living in the country and to deliver it in an accessible and efficient manner.”  

In addition to presenting their initial views to the Ministers on Monday, stakeholders will also have an opportunity to provide more detailed written submissions after the webinar.

The Department of Justice expects to be ready to accept applications for the scheme by the end of the year in line with the commitment in Minister McEntee’s Justice Plan 2021.

The undocumented scheme will operate under the Executive powers of the Minister for Justice on an administrative basis and will be time limited. It is anticipated it will be open for approximately six months for applications.

When assessing applications under this scheme, regard will be given to the character and conduct of an individual. 

It is intended that the final approach to the undocumented scheme will have been brought to Cabinet in September, with applications to the scheme opened by the end of the year.

ENDS

• For permissions due to expire between 21 April 2021 and 20 September 2021

• Applies to people with permission extended under previous notices

• For permissions registered by the Immigration Service and An Garda Síochána

26 March 2021

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, T.D., has today announced a further temporary extension of immigration and international protection permissions to 20 September 2021. This applies to permissions that are due to expire between 21 April 2021 and 20 September 2021 and includes permissions that have already been extended by the previous 6 temporary extensions.

Announcing the measure, Minister McEntee said:

“As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, I want to reassure people whose immigration permissions are due to expire shortly that your legal status in the country will continue to be maintained. To do this, I am introducing a further automatic extension to 20 September 2021 for anyone already holding a valid permission.

“This extension will benefit those who cannot get an appointment to register or renew an existing permission. However, I encourage anyone who can renew, particularly Dublin-based customers who can use the online system, to do so and not to wait until September.

“It is intended this will be the final temporary extension of immigration permission, however we will continue to keep the situation under review as part of our national response to the pandemic.”

The temporary extension of immigration permissions means that people who held a valid permission to be in the State in March 2020 are legally permitted to remain until 20 September 2021, even if  their Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card has expired and they are awaiting a new one. Renewal is on the same basis as the existing permission and the same conditions will continue to apply. Tens of thousands of people will benefit from this measure.

The Registration Office in Burgh Quay remains closed as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions announced by Government in December. Customers who were issued with appointments for first time registrations, will be contacted directly by the Immigration Service and they will be prioritised for appointments once the Public Office can safely reopen. We thank our customers for their understanding and patience during this difficult time.

ENDS…/

http://justice.ie

23 March, 2021

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD has announced that she will make it easier for children born here, whose parents are not Irish citizens and who are not entitled to citizenship at birth, to gain Irish citizenship themselves.

At present, a child born here who is not entitled to citizenship because their parents are not Irish citizens, or because they do not meet the three year residency requirement prior to the birth, needs to be resident in Ireland for four of the previous eight years before they can become citizens. This is in addition to the requirement to have one year’s continuous residence in the State prior to the date of their application.

Minister McEntee will reduce the amount of time such children have to be resident in the State to become Irish citizens from five years to three years. The number of years a minor must be resident in Ireland will now be two years out of the previous eight, in addition to the requirement to have one year’s continuous residence immediately prior to their citizenship application.

This proposal emerged from discussions between Minister McEntee and Labour Senator Ivana Bacik in respect of a Seanad Private Members Bill, and will allow children who are currently on a pathway to citizenship to attain this status at an earlier stage.

These changes will be contained in the upcoming Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021, and the General Scheme for this Bill is expected to be submitted to Government in the coming weeks.

Announcing this step, Minister McEntee said, 

“The granting of Irish citizenship is a privilege and an honour which is recognised by the thousands of people who apply every year. It is my hope that reducing the amount of time children of non-Irish nationals born in Ireland have to wait before being eligible for citizenship will provide comfort and reassurance to many families across the country.

This is in keeping with my Department’s commitment to delivering a fair immigration system for a digital age, as set out in Justice Plan 2021.

I was glad to work and engage with Senator Ivana Bacik on this proposal, and I look forward to it being implemented as quickly as possible.’’

Minister McEntee continued, 

“This amendment provides increased security for children where a parent subsequently falls out of permission as the child will be entitled to Irish citizenship and will therefore be an EU citizen with the right to remain in the State with a non-EEA national guardian or parent. 

However, it will not broaden the categories of children who are entitled to citizenship and this amendment will only apply to the children of those parents who are legally resident in the State. Children born here to non-national parents who have three years prior residency will continue to be Irish citizens from birth.”

Minister McEntee has also committed to exploring whether it would possible for TUSLA to apply for citizenship on behalf of older children in their care in light of particular difficulties they may face. 

This continues to be explored with careful consideration of any implications for children in particular (for example, if a child has citizenship of another country that does not permit dual citizenship) and Minister McEntee is expected to meet with Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman TD, in relation to this issue in the coming weeks.

Ends

Sorcha Pollak

about 19 hours ago

Helen McEntee: These visa measures are ‘designed to support our current public health restrictions on movement, including into and out of Ireland’. File photograph: The Irish Times

The State’s ban on visa-free travel from all South American countries and South Africa has been extended until it is “no longer needed for public health reasons”, according to the Minister for Justice.

Helen McEntee said she had decided to extend the visa restrictions on passport holders from South America and South Africa under section 17 of the Immigration Act 2004 following a review of the measures.

Visa-free travel from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay along with South Africa has been banned since January 27th due to the spread of Covid-19 variants.

Prior to this date, travellers from many of these South American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, did not need to acquire an entry visa or transit before arriving in Ireland.

However, the Department of Justice has also ceased accepting visa and preclearance applications from these countries with the exception of those considered priority or emergency. The measure was due to remain in place until March 5th but has been extended following a review.

In a parliamentary question to the minister, Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns requested proof of “scientific and medical evidence” on which the decision to introduce the visa ban had been based. And she asked for an update on the review of restrictions. Ms Cairns also asked whether passport holders from any other countries were to be banned from travelling to Ireland.

Health restrictions

In her response, published March 10th, Ms McEntee said she had decided to use her powers “to maintain these visa requirements after 5 March and until no longer needed for public health reasons”, adding that no further visa requirements had been introduced since February 17th when Ms Cairns last questioned her on the topic.

These visa measures are “designed to support our current public health restrictions on movement, including into and out of Ireland,” and the decision to introduce the ban was made based on expert public health advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, said Ms McEntee.

“The strong advice is that everyone, regardless of their nationality or visa/preclearance status, or where they started their travel from, who cannot provide proof of an essential purpose to travel to or within Ireland, should not travel to Ireland.

“Further visa requirements may be introduced to other non-EEA countries in the future, where they are deemed necessary and appropriate, to support public health measures approved by the Government.”

https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/visa-free-travel-ban-from-south-america-and-south-africa-extended-1.4510124?mode=amp

15 March, 2021

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, and Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, have today welcomed Ireland’s connection to the Schengen Information System (SIS II).

The Schengen Information System is the largest and most widely used IT system for public security in Europe, with 30 countries participating. The system enables law enforcement agencies to share and check data on wanted persons, missing persons, persons who may not have the right to enter or stay in the EU, and objects/vehicles that may have been stolen, misappropriated, or lost.

On 10 December, 2020, it was announced that the EU Council had approved Ireland’s connection to SIS II and today it becomes fully operational in Ireland.

Welcoming Ireland’s accession, Minister McEntee said,

“The Schengen Information System is the largest law enforcement database in Europe and Ireland’s connection to it will strengthen law enforcement cooperation and enhance security in Europe.

“An Garda Síochána and my Department have been working towards this since 2016. Gardaí have had to build and test the complex IT infrastructure and develop the training needed to complete the connection to SIS II and my Department has drafted the enabling legislation and conducted the necessary negotiations with the EU institutions involved.

“I am confident that this will be a game-changer for Gardaí in their fight against cross-border crime.”

Ireland is not a member of the Schengen common travel area but takes part in some policing co-operation arrangements which are part of the Schengen Agreement and can now provide and receive data under SIS II. For example, all missing persons, persons in respect of whom an EAW exists, and certain categories of identifiable objects will be subject to a SIS II alert and shared on the SIS II database.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said, 

“We in An Garda Síochána have been working towards the implementation of the Schengen Information System in Ireland for some time and are pleased to see it come into operation today.

The benefits that SIS II will bring to policing in Ireland cannot be understated. Having access to the SIS II databases which contain law enforcement data from across 30 EU and associated Schengen countries, gives An Garda Síochána and our law enforcement colleagues across Europe instant access to real time police data and intelligence. Accessing such information means that An Garda Síochána can swiftly deal with issues of serious crime with potential links to other European countries.

I wish to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work and commitment by all involved in developing this system and particularly want to thank the personnel of An Garda Síochána in the newly established SIRENE Bureau who will be responsible on a round the clock basis for the management of Ireland’s participation in SIS II.”

An Garda Síochána has integrated the PULSE and Garda National Immigration Bureau databases with SIS II, and members of An Garda Síochána and staff of the Border Management Unit and Immigration Service (ISD) will have the ability to see SIS data on their workstations.

The new SIRENE Bureau (Supplementary Information Request at the National Entries) within An Garda Síochána will be responsible for the daily management of the SIS system, which will operate on a 24/7 basis to ensure a timely response to alerts. 

ENDS…/

Notes for Editors:

SIS II will allow the automated, simultaneous, and immediate exchange of information across all other countries using SIS II. Garda members add data to SIS II in the form of alerts. An alert contains three elements:

• identifying information on the person or object/vehicle sought;

• a statement on why the person or object is sought; and

• the action to be taken when the person or object is found.

If the person or object is discovered in another country using SIS II (for example at a border check), a hit will be recorded on SIS II and law enforcement in that country will contact An Garda Síochána to discuss the relevant next steps. In this way, all missing person records and lost or stolen object and vehicle records created by An Garda Síochána will be immediately available to those other countries using SIS II. During 2019 alone, there were 120,000 missing person records shared on SIS II.

Likewise, records in regard to all persons sought for arrest and surrender for extradition across Europe will be automatically checked each time a member of An Garda Síochána conducts a name search on the Garda PULSE system or when a member of the Immigration Service of the Department of Justice conducts a passport scan at a point of entry to Ireland. There were over 40,000 alerts on SIS II for persons wanted for arrest at the end of 2019. Automated and integrated SIS II searches will assist in locating any of these people who may be in this country.

There are currently 30 countries connected to SIS – 26 EU member states and 4 associated Schengen countries (Switzerland, Norway, Lichtenstein, and Iceland).

SIS II replaced the old SIS I with state of the art technology, operating on a network with greatly enhanced levels of encryption and security, and containing many important new functionalities over its predecessor. SIS II allows for an easy exchange of information between national border control authorities, customs and police authorities on persons who may have been involved in a serious crime. It also contains alerts on missing persons, in particular children, as well as information on certain property, such as banknotes, cars, vans, firearms and identity documents that may have been stolen, misappropriated or lost.

SIS II – 2019 Statistics

6.6 billion searches by Member States

91 million alerts (75% on lost documents)

283,000 hits processed

Success stories

Netherlands – Austria - Germany

Two foreign fighters from the Netherlands were detected and checked in Austria thanks to a specific check alert in SIS. After receiving information about the hit from Austria, the Dutch prosecutor issued a European Arrest Warrant for both persons. The two suspects could be arrested quickly in Germany following a check on their vehicle for which a SIS alert was issued as well.

Czech Republic – Germany

During a random check on a car with a German licence plate, a 3-year old girl missing in Germany was found by the Czech Police on a motor way service area whilst being driven in the direction of Prague. When checking the passengers' travel documents in SIS, it transpired that the child was in fact subject to a German Court order restricting her movements to German territory and who was actually being searched for by the German Police. The two adults were declaring to be the grandparents of the child but were not in a position to prove such a relationship. The child was therefore temporarily placed in secure accommodation. Following the communications between the Czech and German Police, she was eventually in the care of the German competent authorities.

Austria – Hungary

A 17-year old Russian citizen was reported missing in Austria. Further to the entry of a missing person alert in SIS, the border guards in Hungary found her in a car heading to Romania with three Romanian citizens. The Hungarian authorities placed her under protection and arrested the abductors.

“We will create pathways for regularising the status of long- term undocumented people and their dependents and a sustainable and agile system for international protection applicants, including making it easier for international protection applicants to access the labour market.”

“Objectives:

1. Develop a fully digital, customer-centric immigration service

2. Protect the fairness and enhance the efficiency of our immigration system through new strategic policies and legislative proposals

3. Communicate effectively with our service users, recognising and understanding their diversity and supporting them to engage effectively with us

4. Restructure our immigration services to better serve our customers and our country

5. Ensure that effective controls are exercised at our borders in line with our international obligations and to maintain our national security

6. Eliminate processing backlogs across all immigration application types”

http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Department_of_Justice_Strategy_Statement_2021_-_2023.pdf/Files/Department_of_Justice_Strategy_Statement_2021_-_2023.pdf