Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
454. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will allow retrospective inclusion on the foreign birth register for a specific group of persons (details supplied) in view of the fact that the processing of applications were paused during Covid-19 lockdown; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53159/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is responsible for citizenship by descent through the Foreign Births Register under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended.
Entitlement to Irish citizenship is determined by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (“the 1956 Act”), as amended, under which Irish citizenship may be obtained by birth, by descent, or by Naturalisation. The 1956 Act provides, inter alia, that persons born abroad to parents who themselves were born abroad, are eligible for entry into the Foreign Births Register (FBR) if their parents were Irish citizens at the time of the person’s birth. To change this, an amendment of the 1956 Act would be required. The Department of Justice is responsible for citizenship matters. Any amendment to the 1956 Act is a matter for the Minister for Justice.
Foreign Birth Registration staff have continued to provide an emergency service for Foreign Birth Registration in cases of exceptional urgency, such as expectant parents, or stateless persons. Over 5,000 emergency FBR applications have been processed so far in 2021. In cases of exceptional urgency FBR applicants may continue to contact the Passport Service directly. For other applications, the Department operates a transparent general policy of processing FBR applications in order of receipt.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the processing time for FBR applications stood at 18 months due to an unprecedented surge in applications as a result of Brexit, and the necessary rigorous processing that applies to citizenship applications.
Due to the pandemic, FBR staff have been reassigned to assist in the delivery of essential services. This has resulted in a pause in overall FBR processing. There are approximately 31,000 FBR applications currently on-hand.
The Passport Service is actively planning to resume processing Foreign Birth Registration applications as soon as possible and I will arrange to have the Deputy informed once a date for the resumption of processing these applications has been finalised. My Department is committed to allocating further resources to assist with the high volume of applications, with a focus on reducing turnaround times.
In the context of the National Development Plan, my Department is making a major investment in the future of the Passport Service. Over the next couple of years, we will replace the core technology underpinning the service, which will deliver efficiencies and a more resilient passport and FBR system. Budget 2022 also included an investment of an additional €10m for the Passport Service in response to the increasing demand for passports at home and abroad and Foreign Birth Registration.
