Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 March 2012
382 Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications for Irish citizenship currently being processed; the length of time it is taking to process applications and reach a decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12278/12]
View answerThe Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service is currently processing over 16,000 applications for naturalisation. One year ago there was a backlog of approximately 22,000 applications awaiting decision. Since then, as a result of the measures I initiated to deal with the backlog, over 16,000 applications were dealt with in 2011; more than double the number finalised in 2010. This year to date I have made determinations on over 3,000 applications. I expect that the current backlog of standard cases will be cleared over the coming months with the 6 month average processing time for standard applications being reached by June 2012.
