On 1 May, I asked a parliamentary question about the cause of the high volume of refunds in employment permit applications, which was resulting in delays. People are able to get permits, on the one hand, from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment but, on the other side, at the Department of justice, there are delays for visas. The left hand is doing one thing and the right hand is doing another and we have massive delays for critical workers. Can we not ensure one side talks to the other and streamline the processing of these critical workers? I am dealing with businesses that are going out of business because they need mechanics and many other critical workers. Why can we not streamline this so that one side talks to the other? We can get people the permits but we cannot get them the visas.

I thank the Deputy for his question. It is opportune that he mentions this because this morning I had a meeting with American Chamber of Commerce Ireland where we discussed issues with the granting of work permits and subsequently visas. I agree it would be preferable if there was a single entry point where people could apply. When it comes to visas being issued by the Department of justice, it is a more complex process. Work and enquiries that need to be made in many instances take longer than the granting of the work permit by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I hear what the Deputy is saying. Digitalisation will happen and the process will become more efficient.