Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 June 2023
114. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice how often citizenship ceremonies are held in a year; where these ceremonies are held; when the next ceremony will take place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31457/23]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that the Citizenship Division of my Department is committed to reducing how long applicants have to wait for a decision while improving the service provided to applicants.
To help achieve this my Department is holding additional Citizenship Ceremonies this year and next to ensure it has the ability to naturalise as many applicants as possible.
So far this year there have been 6 Citizenship Ceremonies. These have taken place in the RDS, Dublin in March and in the INEC, Killarney just last week. To date in 2023, more than ten thousand people have been approved for naturalisation.
The Ceremonies held in the RDS were used to trial a new processing format and to test the best means of increasing the number of ceremonies annually.
I can confirm that the Division is in the process of planning additional Ceremonies in both the autumn and winter of 2023. As the Deputy will appreciate, these events require considerable planning.
The Citizenship Division issues invitations to successful applicants at the earliest possible opportunity. Further information on Citizenship Ceremonies is available on my Department’s website here: www.irishimmigration.ie/how-to-become-a-citizen/citizenship-ceremonies/
