Róisín Shortall
Ceist:196. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the waiting times for citizenship ceremonies; and the reason for the long delays. [19752/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 8 May 2018
Ceisteanna (196)
Freagraí scríofa
As the Deputy will appreciate, 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 as well as international level. It is therefore important that appropriate procedures are in place to ensure that the integrity of the regime for granting Irish citizenship through the naturalisation process is held in high regard both at home and internationally.
It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. While the Citizenship Division endeavours that most straightforward cases are processed to a decision within six months, this has to be seen in the context of the work involved in dealing with volumes of applications, some of which can be very complex in nature, and the need to ensure that each applicant fulfils the statutory conditions for naturalisation. The nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases can take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks may take a considerable period of time.
Processing timescales can often be impacted due to further documentation being required from the applicant, or payment of the required certificate fee is awaited, or the applicant has not been engaging with the office. In some instances delays can arise at the final stage of the naturalisation process, for example, where additional information comes to light which requires to be considered. In other instances the applicant themselves may request that a hold be put on their application, for example, where they may have returned to their country of origin for a prolonged period, to facilitate them in making arrangements to return to reside in the State, or where they have difficulty in obtaining satisfactory evidence of their identity or nationality.
The final stage requires the applicant to attend at a citizenship ceremony. Citizenship ceremony days take place periodically throughout the year, at which up to 3,500 candidates for citizenship make their declaration of fidelity to the Irish nation and loyalty to the State, give an undertaking to uphold the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values and receive their certificate of naturalisation. The organisation of a citizen ceremony day involving over 3,500 applicants, together with their family and friends, is a significant logistical exercise usually taking a number of months to organise. The next citizenship ceremony day will take place on 21 May 2018; persons in respect of whom the Minister has indicated an intention to grant a certificate of naturalisation are in the process of being invited to attend. A very small number of persons whose applications were only approved in the very recent past cannot be accommodated at this ceremony and will be invited to attend the next ceremony.
INIS devotes a considerable amount of its overall resources to the processing of these cases. It also operates a dedicated phone helpline and email helpdesk available for all applicants interested in the progress of their application, details of which are available on the INIS website at www.inis.gov.ie