Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
746. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice the total number of persons that have been granted a certificate of naturalisation pursuant to section 16 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 in the past five years and in the past 12 months. [14088/22]
View answer747. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons that have been granted citizenship pursuant to section 16 by reason of Irish descent in the past five years and in the past 12 months. [14089/22]
View answer748. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons that have been granted citizenship pursuant to section 16 by reason of Irish association in the past five years and in the past 12 months. [14090/22]
View answer749. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons that have been granted citizenship pursuant to section 16 by reason of Irish association based on Irish ascent in the past five years and in the past 12 months. [14091/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 746, 747, 748 and 749 together.
Statistics are not compiled or maintained in the manner requested by the Deputy, i.e. whether an application was granted based on Irish Association by Descent or Ascent other than in the case of applications in respect of a minor of Irish descent or Irish associations or a refugee.
The retrieval of the data requested would require a case by case examination of all applications received during the timeframe specified, approximately 60,000 applications. This would represent a significant diversion of resources from day to day processing.
To be of some assistance to the Deputy, the table below provides a breakdown of the number of certificates issued under Section 16 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, from the information readily available to my Department.
|
Year |
Refugee (S 16 (1) (g) |
Minor application based on Irish Association (Form 10) (S 16.(1) (b) ) |
Minor application where the adult applicant is a naturalised Irish citizen acting on behalf of their minor child (S 16 (1) (c ) |
|
2017 |
68 |
25 |
1314 |
|
2018 |
37 |
38 |
1147 |
|
2019 |
66 |
9 |
845 |
|
2020 |
122 |
6 |
473 |
|
2021 |
410 |
13 |
884 |
|
2022 |
222 |
9 |
28 |
Section 16 of the 1956 Act, as amended, provides the discretion to waive the statutory conditions in certain circumstances, including where the applicant is of Irish descent or Irish associations (defined as related through blood, affinity or adoption to a person who is or is entitled to be an Irish citizen).
There is no right or entitlement to have any of the statutory conditions waived even where the applicant comes within the certain circumstances defined. This discretion is used very rarely and only under the most exceptional and compelling circumstances.
