More than 150,000 expected to apply for visas in 2006

MORE than 150,000 people will apply for Irish visas this year, Justice Minister Michael McDowell claimed yesterday.

As a new system to speed up applications was unveiled, Mr McDowell said there had been great demand in the past few years and that looked set to continue.

The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS), set up last year, will use a computerised service in a bid to process applications more quickly.