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Citizenship Applications

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 June 2022

Thursday, 30 June 2022

Questions (261, 262)

John Lahart

Question:

261. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Justice when decisions will be made in the case of citizenship applications for persons (details supplied) born in the State. [35138/22]

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John Lahart

Question:

262. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Justice if a child in the care of the State (details supplied) who was born in the State and has applied for Irish citizenship will be granted a re-entry visa to facilitate their travel to France to represent Ireland in an international sporting tournament in August 2022; and if the process will be expedited in order that the opportunity to represent Ireland is not missed. [35139/22]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 261 and 262 together.

The application for naturalisation from the persons referred to by the Deputy were acknowledged on 9 May 2022 by the Citizenship Division of my Department. They will now be processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision in due course.

The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.

In addition, the combined impact of the 2019 High Court judgment in the Jones case and the necessary health restrictions arising from the pandemic, has unfortunately resulted in the processing time for standard applications increasing.

However, my Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and a number of digitisation measures have also been introduced to increase efficiency in the process, including eTax clearance, eVetting and online payments. The end result of the digitisation process will be to free up more staff to focus on processing applications in a timely and efficient manner, to improve service to our customers and reduce waiting times.

In 2021, my Department issued 11,512 citizenship decisions, which is the highest number of decisions made since 2015, and reflects positively the significant changes undertaken to date.

Re-entry visa requirements for children under the age of 16 have been suspended with immediate effect and until further notice. Full information has been published on my Department's immigration website at: www.irishimmigration.ie/suspension-of-re-entry-visa-requirements-for-children-under-the-age-of-16-years/.

Non-EEA nationals under the age of 16 who wish to re-enter the State must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who has a legal permission to reside in the State. The adult accompanying the child must also provide appropriate documentation to prove they are the legal parent or guardian of the child in question. The child must have their own passport.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: INISOireachtasMail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Question No. 262 answered with Question No. 261.
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