Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 March 2022
228. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of a foreign birth registration application by a person (details supplied); the steps his Department has taken to alleviate the long delays being experienced by applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13603/22]
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.
The processing of Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) has resumed and will be gradually scaling up in line with the recruitment of additional resources. Due to the complex nature of the FBR process, the large increase in applications received following the Brexit vote in the UK, and the pause in the Service due to necessary Covid-19 restrictions, applicants should allow approximately 2 years from the receipt of supporting documentation for processing of FBR applications at this time. Arising from the Covid-19 restrictions, and the subsequent reassignment of FBR staff to assist in the provision of essential passport services, the Foreign Birth Registration Service was paused for nearly 15 months across the 2020-2021 period.
The application referenced was registered on 25 March 2020, and is being stored in a secure environment.
The FBR service operates a transparent general policy of processing applications in order of receipt. FBR staff continue to provide an emergency service for Foreign Birth Registration in cases of exceptional urgency, such as expectant parents, or stateless persons. Such applicants may continue to contact the Passport Service directly.
My Department has been pro-actively planning to ensure the necessary resources are in place to meet the current and expected level of demand for passports and FBR in 2022 and is making an unprecedented investment in the Passport Service, including the FBR Service, in terms of additional staff and improvements to the passport processing and customer service systems.
The Department has also been working with the Public Appointments Service on a major recruitment drive over the past several months. Since June of 2021, over 300 members of staff at all grades have been assigned to the Passport Service. In addition to this, and to complement staffing recruitment through the Public Appointments Service, the Passport Service is running its own recruitment competition for Temporary Clerical Officers with a view to assigning additional staff and to maintain staffing levels throughout the year to meet the demand expected for passports and Foreign Birth Registration in the coming months.
