489. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his Department will review the net income thresholds required for non-EEA family reunification, specifically for category C sponsors holding general employment permits in the health and social care sector; if he recognises the systemic barrier created when the State accepts a healthcare assistant's salary as sufficient for an essential work permit but insufficient to sponsor their minor children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52694/26]

490. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will consider amending the non-EEA family reunification policy to grant immediate family reunification rights to general employment permit holders working in essential healthcare and home care roles, bringing their entitlements into alignment with critical skills employment permit holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52695/26]

498. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will review the current non-EEA family reunification policy for healthcare assistants and home care assistants employed under the general employment permit system; if he will examine the impact of the current income thresholds, waiting periods and processing times on workers who remain separated from their spouses and children despite working and paying taxes in Ireland; if he will consider a more child-centred approach, greater flexibility in assessing family income and accommodation, and faster processing of applications involving minor children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52732/26]

568. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will review the Non EEA family reunification scheme currently in place for health care assistants, home care assistants and other essential general employment permit workers who form a vital part of our health support system; his views that requiring such workers to be permanently separated from their families is not just or humane, and will have the practical result of making Ireland unattractive for such workers in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53359/26]

580. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will review the Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy with a view to extending more favourable family reunification arrangements to healthcare assistants and home care assistants employed under general employment permits, particularly those who have completed two years or more of lawful employment in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53562/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 489, 490, 498, 568 and 580 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, on 26 November 2025, I published the review of the non-EEA Family Reunification Policy (available at assets.gov.ie/static/documents/160c592a/Final_Report_on_the_Review_of_the_Non-EEA_Family_Reunification_Policy.pdf) which had 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. Further changes to the policy were made on 12 June 2026 based on commitments made in the review, including an annual review of financial thresholds to keep them in line with the cost of living, and to align with the new Statutory family reunification scheme under the International Protection Act 2026.

The latest version of the policy document is available here: www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Family-Reunification-Policy-12-June-2026.pdf

One of the most complex issues regarding the review into Family Reunification Policy was the level of income thresholds required for family reunification with minor children, in particular for General Employment Permit (GEP) holders. A key principle of the Policy is that sponsors should be able to support family members who join them in Ireland without recourse to State supports which is why income thresholds have historically been based on eligibility for Working Family Payment.

There was extensive stakeholder engagement during the review which focused on the situation regarding lower paid holders of GEPs, such as Health Care Assistants (HCAs), and the difficulties they have in applying for family reunification involving children, due to their lower levels of pay in relation to the income thresholds.

Following detailed consultation with other departments and civil society groups, the review concluded that the levels of income thresholds for lower paid sponsors should be considered in the context of the sustainability of wage growth, as opposed to lowering income thresholds below the level of eligibility for Working Family Payment. A range of options to reduce the financial thresholds were examined; however, the review found that lowering the thresholds would likely increase reliance on State supports, especially when also factoring in healthcare, education and other State expenditure involving children.

In January 2024, DETE increased the minimum salaries for employment permits for the first time in 18 years and introduced annual indexation against average earnings in the State to ensure wage stagnation did not continue in the future. Rationalisation of lower minimum salaries for HCAs, among other occupations, will see those minimum salaries increase more quickly so that the lower rates are phased out by 2030.

My Department will continue to engage with DETE and other stakeholders as these increases take effect and other related variables (such as the level of WFP) change in the coming years and will consider the implications for the current basis of the threshold in the Policy which we will keep under ongoing review. However, it will remain a key principle of the Policy that sponsors must be able to afford to provide for any family members who join them in Ireland without recourse to State supports. This protects the integrity of the immigration system while maximising the wider social and economic benefits of migration. The Government’s focus will remain on improving wage growth rather than increasing eligibility for social protection.

Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) holders are deliberately dealt with more favourably under the Policy. Occupations on the critical skills list are promoted for migration to the State, based on skills shortages, and so preferential conditions apply to attract those key skills. Immediate reunification with nuclear family members is one of those conditions, and this is in the context that CSEP roles are generally skilled professions with higher starting salaries and considerable room for salary growth and promotion so will generally not need to have recourse to social protection.

The review also reduced the effective waiting period from 24 months to 12 months for GEP holders by reducing the requirement to produce two years evidence of income. It concluded that any further reduction in the 12-month waiting period would slow the processing of applications by creating a surge.

While every effort is made to process applications as soon as possible, processing times will vary having regard to the volume and complexity of applications. However, applicants for join family visas will generally receive a first instance decision within the 12-month business target.

My Department will continue to keep all of these issues under ongoing review as circumstances develop and we will feed them into consideration for further updates that will be made to the Policy in 2027.