Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
1153. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Justice the current situation regarding an application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied); if, in light of the over two and a half years since the application has been submitted, she will arrange to expedite a decision on this case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38231/23]
View answerThe naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.
A request for further documentation has recently issued to the person concerned. Once the Citizenship division of my Department has received these documents, processing of the application can resume with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation.
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.
I understand the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants and my Department has been working hard to clear backlogs.
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.
My Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and a number of digitisation measures have been introduced to increase efficiency in the process, including eVetting and online payments. The end result of the digitisation process will be the freeing up of more staff to focus on processing applications in a timely and efficient manner, improving service to our customers and reduction of waiting times.
Finally, I can advise the Deputy that the Citizenship Division of my Department intends to regularly communicate with all applicants on a quarterly basis into the future, to keep them updated on the status of their application.
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.
