Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 February 2021
588. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Justice if she will review the naturalisation and citizenship application process and timelines for front-line workers following several reports from front-line workers who have been waiting a year and a half to two years for their naturalisation applications to be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8092/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI recognise the crucial role healthcare workers are continuing to play in responding to the threat of COVID-19. They work in a challenging environment and deal with vulnerable people on a daily basis. Their exceptional commitment has been particularly clear throughout the pandemic, during which they have played a vital part in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
All applications for a certificate of naturalisation are processed and assessed individually in accordance with legislation. There are no provisions to apply different criteria depending on the category of employment of the applicant and statistics are not maintained by the Immigration Service of my Department to enable me to provide details of the profession of applicants. All applicants are required to meet minimum periods of reckonable residence and standard checks are carried out as part of the overall process to maintain its integrity.
I am conscious that a significant backlog has built up regarding the granting of citizenships due to the inability to hold in person ceremonies during COVID-19. Unfortunately, the pandemic has prevented the holding of such ceremonies, which are usually attended by hundreds of people and which have become a welcome addition to our public and civic life.
I was pleased to announce last month that a temporary system is now in place that will enable citizenship applicants to complete their naturalisation process by signing a statutory declaration of loyalty. This signed statutory declaration replaces the requirement for citizenship applicants to attend citizenship ceremonies, which have been temporarily suspended during COVID-19.
Under the temporary new system, up to 4,000 qualifying applicants will be asked to complete a statutory declaration that will be sent to them by email from the Citizenship Division of the Immigration Service of my Department and bring it to one of the listed designated officials. The designated official must witness the applicant sign the statutory declaration. The applicant must then send the signed statutory declaration, the appropriate fee and any other requested documentation to Citizenship Division. Final processing will then take place and a certificate of naturalisation, will be sent to the applicant.
The new system is in place from 18 January 2021, and my Department will communicate with applicants regarding the requirements, on a phased basis over the next few months until in-person citizenship ceremonies are able to recommence.
It is expected that the 4,000 applicants currently waiting on naturalisation will have been provided with an opportunity to gain citizenship by the end of March and I am pleased to say that more than 500 certificates have recently issued. A significant number of healthcare and other frontline workers who have made extraordinary contributions during the pandemic will also benefit from these new arrangements over the coming weeks and months.
It remains my intention that large scale ceremonies will recommence once circumstances allow. Since their establishment in 2011, citizenship ceremonies have been joyous occasions which mark the granting of Irish citizenships in a dignified manner and they have become a welcome addition to our public and civic life. In-person ceremonies have been provisionally scheduled to resume in December 2021, subject to the safety of all involved being assured.
In addition to the provision of an alternative platform to large-scale citizenship ceremonies, work is well advanced on the following suite of measures designed to deal with the current unprecedented level of demand being witnessed:
- Additional staffing resources are being assigned to the Citizenship Division. Attendant to this development, restructuring of the organisational structure of the Division is currently underway to ensure optimal customer service delivery.
- In the context of communications, the Citizenship website has been significantly revamped to make it more user friendly, As part of this process, a new online chat conversation application, or “Chatbot” called Tara was introduced last December. This provides users with an instant response to frequently asked questions and mimics real-time text or message exchanges with a member of staff. There have been over 10,000 interactions on the Chatbot since it launched.
- Plans for the digitalisation of the naturalisation process are also well advanced, through increased digital and ICT investment. As part of this process, eTax-clearance for citizenship applicants has been introduced. Online payments have been trialled for applications from minors and the process is currently being rolled out to adult applications on a phased basis.
The end result of the digitisation process will be to free up additional resources to focus on enhanced customer service delivery, ensuring the integrity of the process is protected and processing applications in a timely and efficient manner.
