Neale Richmond
Ceist:615. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the average processing time for citizenship applications for minors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28052/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 31 May 2022
Ceisteanna (615)
Freagraí scríofa
I am deeply conscious of how important the granting of naturalisation is to those who apply for it and my Department continued to accept and process citizenship applications throughout the pandemic and during all levels of public health restrictions.
For a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.
In addition, the combined impact of the 2019 High Court judgment in the Jones case and the necessary health restrictions arising from the pandemic, has unfortunately resulted in the processing time for standard applications increasing.
Regrettably, the current average processing time for naturalisation applications for minors is approximately 23 months.
However, last year, my Department made 11,512 citizenship decisions, which is the highest level since 2015.
The Citizenship Division of my Department has also been specifically focusing on the processing of naturalisation applications for minors during the last month, which has resulted in over 1,100 applicants now having been contacted directly regarding the further processing of their application.
The citizenship application process is reviewed on an ongoing basis to continually improve customer service quality. Feedback from applicants is taken on board and, as a result, a much more simplified, customer-focused and streamlined mechanism for applicants to provide their proofs of residence has recently been introduced.
To further speed up the processing of applications, a number of digitisation measures have also been introduced to increase efficiency in the process, including eTax clearance, eVetting and online payments. The end result of the digitisation process will be to free up more staff to focus on processing applications in a timely and efficient manner, to improve service to our customers and reduce waiting times. Additional staff have also been assigned to the citizenship team.
Since the beginning of this year, new applicants for citizenship no longer have to submit their original passport with their application. Instead, they can provide a full colour copy of their entire passport, including the front and back covers. This change in practice is welcomed by our customers and is also freeing up valuable staff time that up to now has been engaged in returning passports to applicants.
My Department intends to host the first in-person citizenship ceremony since the pandemic on 20 June 2022, with further ceremonies planned for December, in Killarney.