Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2023
349. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice whether there is any reason for the long delay in the naturalisation process for a person (details supplied) who has been educated in Ireland from the age of nine years, and for whom third level education will be unaffordable without naturalisation, bearing in mind the initiation of this process almost two-and-a-half years ago. [49879/23]
View answerThe naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.
The application submitted for this applicant was based on Irish Associations. However, as the parent has since been naturalised it will now be processed as an application based on being the child of an Irish citizen. An eVetting request will also be issued to he applicant for completion.
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.
In October, my Department moved from paper based applications to online forms for all new adult applications going forward. Online applications will make the process easier for customers, allowing them to easily fill in the relevant forms, upload the required documents, make payments and submit. The forms will provide a seamless application process and will help guide applicants through what is required for an application.
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 communicate regularly 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.
