Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
335. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice if she is aware of the significant delays in processing times for naturalisation applications and in the sending of certificates to those who have attended naturalisation ceremonies; the current expected processing times and times to allocate certificates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8841/24]
View answer336. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice the current number of applicants awaiting naturalisation applications to be processed; the number pending from 2021, 2022 and 2023; the estimated timeline for clearing the backlog and the percentage of rejected candidates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8842/24]
View answer350. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice when candidates who attended their citizenship ceremonies in October 2023 can expect to receive their certificates of naturalisation in view that it is now over 20 weeks since the ceremonies took place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9117/24]
View answer352. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice when candidates who attended their citizenship ceremonies in December 2023 can expect to receive their certificates of naturalisation in view that it is now over nine weeks since the ceremonies took place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9127/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 335, 336, 350 and 352 together.
In a little over two years Citizenship Division has gone from processing around 12,000 applications a year to processing over 20,000 applications. This 66% increase in processing has been achieved through digitising and streamlining processes.
Last year Citizenship Division more than doubled the number of Citizenship Ceremonies available to applicants with 15 held over the course of the year. These took place in the RDS, Dublin in March, in the INEC, Killarney in June, and in the Convention Centre in both October and December. This was a significant increase on 6 Citizenship Ceremonies held in 2022.
I recognise that the delay in receiving a Naturalisation Certificate is frustrating for people and my Department is examining on how to speed up the delivery of Certificates for future Ceremonies to be held this year.
I am advised that all of the Certificates for the Ceremonies held in October 2023 have issued. However, if any applicant has not received their Certificate for any reason they should contact Citizenship Division directly at citizenshipinfo@justice.ie.
I am also advised that the majority of the 6,000 Certificates for people that attended the December ceremonies have now issued. Any applicants that are yet to receive their certificate can be assured that they will receive their Certificate of Naturalisation via registered post in the coming weeks.
Citizenship Division currently have 28,485 applications on hand all at varying stages of the application process.
The below table outlines various stages of processing for the requested years.
Finally, I can advise the Deputy that the Citizenship Division of my Department will continue to communicate regularly with all applicants to keep them informed on updates on processing times and arrangements.
|
Year |
Received |
Completed |
Deemed as criteria not met |
Pending decision |
Decision issued but awaiting final completion |
|
2021 |
11,973 |
9,753 |
222 |
1,651 |
569 |
|
2022 |
17,188 |
8,009 |
134 |
6,987 |
2,192 |
|
2023 |
23,114 |
4,162 |
460 |
18,267 |
685 |
