Tuesday, 14 Jun 2022

Written Answers Nos. 1352-1369

Citizenship Applications

Ceisteanna (1352)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

1352. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of an application for citizenship by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30488/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The application for naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy, continues to be processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision in due course.

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 level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, 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. 

However, my Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and 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.

In 2021, my Department issued 11,512 citizenship decisions, which is the highest number of decisions made since 2015, and reflects positively the significant changes undertaken to date.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: [e-mail], which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Citizenship Applications

Ceisteanna (1353)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

1353. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of an application for citizenship by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30489/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a certificate of naturalisation issued to the person concerned by registered post on 8 June 2021.  

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: [e-mail], which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited .

Naturalisation Applications

Ceisteanna (1354)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

1354. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of an application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30490/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I can inform the Deputy that a decision on this application issued to the person concerned by registered post on 12 October 2021. 

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: [e-mail], which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Visa Applications

Ceisteanna (1355)

Paul Murphy

Ceist:

1355. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice when the decision was made to provide short-term letters of permission on 27 May 2022 to stamp 2 visa holders whose permissions were due to expire on 31 May 2022; and if she will account for any delay between the decision and announcement. [30491/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I can advise the Deputy that, once the issue was raised with my Department, a number of practical issues had to be worked through before the solution, to provide short-term letters of permission, could be made by a senior official in my Department on 23 May 2022. These issues included how best to incorporate efficiently a new area of work, given significant pressures on the resources of the immigration system as travel resumes and given the need to manage the timely issue of temporary protection status to thousands of Ukrainians in the past weeks. 

Following the completion of some practical arrangements, this decision was then publicly communicated on 27 May 2022 by way of a press release, a notice posted to my Department's immigration website (www.irishimmigration.ie), and a direct communication to the members of the Immigration NGO Forum, which engages with my Department on immigration matters.

During the pandemic, immigration permissions were extended nine times to allow people who held a valid permission to be in the State in March 2020 to be legally permitted to remain here until 31 May 2022. These extensions were made in the context of an uncertain health and international travel situation to provide assistance and assurance to people who use our immigration services.

Notwithstanding this, I announced the most recent measure to provide clarity to certain groups over the summer period and provided a notice to employers that non-EEA nationals may continue to work once they can provide documentary evidence of their ongoing application to renew their immigration permission.

Question No. 1356 answered with Question No. 1295.

Naturalisation Applications

Ceisteanna (1357)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

1357. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of an application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30493/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a certificate of naturalisation issued to the person concerned by registered post on 9 April 2021. 

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: [e-mail], which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Naturalisation Applications

Ceisteanna (1358)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

1358. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of an application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30494/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a certificate of naturalisation issued to the person concerned by registered post on 29 June 2021. 

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: [e-mail], which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Naturalisation Applications

Ceisteanna (1359)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

1359. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of a naturalisation application by persons (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30498/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a certificate of naturalisation issued to the first person concerned, by registered post on 28 July 2021.

I can also confirm, that a certificate of naturalisation issued to the second person concerned, by registered post on 30 June 2021. 

The application for naturalisation from the third person referred to by the Deputy, continues to be processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision in due course.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: [e-mail], which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Naturalisation Applications

Ceisteanna (1360)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

1360. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of a naturalisation application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30499/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a certificate of naturalisation issued to the person concerned by registered post on 5 May 2022. 

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: [e-mail], which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Naturalisation Applications

Ceisteanna (1361)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

1361. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice the status of an application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied) [30504/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

This application is currently the subject of judicial review proceedings before the courts. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for me to make any further comment at this time.

Departmental Data

Ceisteanna (1362, 1363)

Eoin Ó Broin

Ceist:

1362. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners who were released from prison to emergency homeless accommodation or no pre-arranged accommodation in each month in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30593/22]

Eoin Ó Broin

Ceist:

1363. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners who were categorised as homeless committed on remand and under sentence in each month in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30594/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1362 and 1363 together.

As the Deputy will appreciate, measures to address homelessness and the provision of accommodation to persons vulnerable to homelessness are the responsibility of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.

I am advised that Local Authorities maintain statistics regarding people accessing homeless services on the “PASS” system.  The Irish Prison Service does not have access to this information.

The Prison Service does maintain regular contact with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Local Authorities regarding the release of prisoners who have identified themselves to prison services as homeless or at risk of homelessness. The objective of the Service is that all releases are planned in order to support offenders to make informed and effective transitions from prison to the community.

I am advised that, when a sentenced prisoner informs prison authorities that they were homeless prior to coming into custody, or that they are at risk of homelessness on release, they are referred to the prison-based resettlement service. The Resettlement Service works with the prisoner and the relevant Local Authority to complete their social housing application and identify possible accommodation solutions in preparation for their release and reintegration to the community.

I am also advised that the Irish Prison Service does not record statistics in the specific format requested by the Deputy.  However, statistics are available from 2020 to date, broken down by Local Authority and these are provided in the tables below. Table 1 provides details of the number of committals where the person declared that they were of ‘no fixed abode’ or ‘address not stated’ at the point of committal.

Table 1. Number of prisoners who declared homeless status on committal to prison

The table below sets out the number of committals who cited ‘No Fixed Abode’ or ‘Address Not Stated’ on committal to prison. An individual can be committed on more than one occasion in a given year, for example, committed on a remand warrant in January and again on a sentence warrant in July. 

			Year 2020			Year 2021			Year 2022 (up to and including 31 May 2022)
Committal Month	Remand	Sentence	Total	Remand	Sentence	Total	Remand	Sentence	Total
January	23	32	55	12	23	35	16	26	42
February	32	29	61	17	26	43	13	31	44
March	19	26	45	12	30	42	21	16	37
April	11	14	25	13	23	36	18	20	38
May	9	20	29	11	29	40	26	26	52
June	16	16	32	14	29	43
July	17	22	39	12	23	35
August	14	13	27	15	8	23
September	16	17	33	8	22	30
October	20	15	35	27	23	50
November	26	19	45	22	20	42
December	21	12	33	20	8	28
Grand Total	224	235	459	183	264	447	94	119	213

Total Committals in Year 2020 = 6,340 

Total Committals in Year 2021 = 6,133

Total Committals in Year 2022 (up to and including 31 May) = 3,085*. 

*numbers may be subject to change pending the publication of the Annual Report 2022. 

Tables 2.1 to 2.3 provide details of the number of sentenced prisoners who engaged with the resettlement service prior to their release, completed an application for social housing and who were released from prison to attend public housing appointments for emergency homeless accommodation.   The Prison Service advise that the application for social housing can be submitted months or days in advance of the release date dependent on the timing of the prisoner’s voluntary declaration of homelessness, which influences opportunities for response. 

These tables do not include prisoners on remand, or prisoners who did not declare their homeless status to prison authorities prior to release, or prisoners who choose not to avail of the assistance of the resettlement service, as this information is not available.

2. Tables of sentenced prisoners who applied to the Resettlement Service for social housing in advance of release and who presented for emergency homeless service provision on the day of release .

2.1 - 18 March 2020 to 31 December 2020

Local Authority	Total sentenced prisoners who applied via Resettlement Service for social housing in advance of release and who presented for emergency homeless service provision on day of release - 18/03/2020 and 31/12/2020
Carlow	2
Cavan	2
Clare	9
Cork City	20
Cork County	14
Donegal	4
Dublin City	64
Dun   Laoghaire/Rathdown	4
Fingal	3
Galway	4
Galway	9
South   Dublin	9
Kerry	4
Kildare	1
Kilkenny	8
Laois	3
Limerick City & County	12
Longford	2
Louth	4
Mayo	1
Meath	2
Monaghan	0
Offaly	6
Roscommon	1
Sligo	2
Tipperary	9
Waterford City & County	10
Westmeath	8
Wexford	4
Wicklow	3
Total	224
Total number of people released*	5,753

*people can be released more than once in a year.

Table 2.2 - 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021

Local Authority	Total sentenced prisoners who applied via Resettlement Service for social housing in advance of release and who presented for emergency homeless service provision on day of release - 01/01/2021 and 31/12/2021
Carlow	3
Cavan	0
Clare	10
Cork City	38
Cork County	21
Donegal	4
Dublin City	62
Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown	0
Fingal	4
Galway County	7
Galway City	6
South Dublin	2
Kerry	8
Kildare	0
Kilkenny	5
Laois	6
Leitrim	0
Limerick City & County	24
Longford	2
Louth	2
Mayo	1
Meath	2
Monaghan	2
Offaly	2
Roscommon	0
Sligo	5
Tipperary	14
Waterford City & County	5
Westmeath	9
Wexford	3
Wicklow	2
Total	249
Total people released*	5289

Table 2.3 - 1 January 2022 to 8 June 2022

Local Authority	Total sentenced prisoners who applied via Resettlement Service for social housing in advance of release and who presented for emergency homeless service provision on day of release - 01/01/2022 and 08/06/2022
Carlow	3
Cavan	0
Clare	2
Cork City	16
Cork County	9
Donegal	3
Dublin City	24
Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown	3
Fingal	5
Galway County	1
Galway City	2
South Dublin	2
Kerry County	5
Kildare County	2
Kilkenny County	1
Laois	3
Leitrim	0
Limerick City & County	7
Longford	1
Louth	4
Mayo	2
Meath	1
Monaghan	2
Offaly	1
Roscommon	1
Sligo	1
Tipperary	3
Waterford   City & County	2
Westmeath	1
Wexford	4
Wicklow	2
Total	113
Total people released to end May 2022*	2480

Table 3 provides details of sentenced prisoners who engaged with the resettlement service where a bed placement was identified by the Local Authority in advance of the release date.

Table 3- Total number of sentenced prisoners who applied via Resettlement Service for social housing in advance of release and had bed placement identified by Local Authority in advance of release date – 18 March 2020 to 3 June 2022  

Local Authority	Total  sentenced prisoners who applied  via Resettlement Service for social housing in advance of release and had bed   placement identified by Local Authority in advance of release date – 18 March 2020 to 3 June 2022
Carlow	1
Cavan	4
Clare	2
Donegal	1
Cork City	47
Cork County	12
Dublin City	126
Direct Provision/IPAS	4
Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown	8
Fingal	13
Galway County	4
Galway City	3
Kerry	12
Kildare	9
Kilkenny	3
Limerick	5
Laois	5
Leitrim	1
Longford	1
Louth	1
Mayo	2
Meath	8
Monaghan	2
Offaly	2
South Dublin	25
Roscommon	2
Sligo	7
Tipperary	5
Waterford	8
Westmeath	4
Wexford	3
Wicklow	2
Total	332

Question No. 1363 answered with Question No. 1362.

Citizenship Applications

Ceisteanna (1364)

Neale Richmond

Ceist:

1364. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons who have been awarded Irish citizenship and their country of origin from 2015 to 2021 and to date in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30662/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The information requested by the Deputy can be found in the attached table. Where the total number of people of any given country of origin is less than five, no further breakdown is provided to protect the identity of the people concerned. 

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. 

It should be noted that last year, my Department made 11,512 citizenship decisions, which is the highest level since 2015, and this work has continued apace in 2022.

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.

I am also pleased to confirm that my Department will host the first in-person citizenship ceremony since the pandemic on 20 June 2022, with further ceremonies scheduled in December 2022, in Killarney.

Column1	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Grand Total
Afghanistan	80	46	39	36	15	25	81	75	397
Albania	78	40	14	26	13	25	57	25	278
Algeria	79	54	20	25	8	8	51	40	285
Angola	78	46	26	16	7	8	19	9	209
Argentina	18	9	15	10	7	13	25	9	106
Armenia	16	11	2	9	3	3	6	3	53
Australia	57	36	32	32	31	12	66	30	296
Austria	1	3	2	3	0	1	2	1	13
Azerbaijan	5	2	2	2	3	3	6	3	26
Bahrain	0	1	2	2	0	0	2	0	7
Bangladesh	141	111	79	81	58	41	146	87	744
Barbados	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	5
Belarus	64	46	29	30	22	16	23	8	238
Belgium	5	4	3	4	6	3	4	4	33
Benin	7	0	1	2	0	1	2	1	14
Bhutan	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	6
Bolivia	3	4	2	2	1	1	3	4	20
Bosnia And Herzegovina	15	12	11	8	3	5	8	2	64
Botswana	7	7	4	5	7	4	11	3	48
Brazil	393	303	264	219	187	179	334	172	2,051
British Overseas Citizens (etc)	21	11	8	3	4	4	9	0	60
Bulgaria	107	76	60	57	47	62	75	33	517
Burkina Faso	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	8
Burundi	13	2	3	2	0	0	3	4	27
Cambodia	1	1	1	1	0	2	1	0	7
Cameroon	79	43	38	33	27	24	46	16	306
Canada	52	43	18	31	19	28	48	21	260
Chad	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	6
Chile	7	8	2	3	1	1	7	2	31
China (Including Hong Kong)	478	304	224	233	160	129	293	120	1,941
Colombia	13	17	11	15	8	5	15	9	93
Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The	245	155	74	56	34	43	101	66	774
Congo, The Republic Of The	11	9	4	4	3	1	6	2	40
Costa Rica	0	3	0	0	2	2	0	0	7
Cote D'Ivoire	24	10	9	5	8	3	17	5	81
Croatia	33	17	15	14	19	17	49	25	189
Cuba	8	4	2	5	2	7	4	4	36
Cyprus	0	2	1	0	2	0	1	1	7
Czech Republic	30	40	32	27	18	10	20	16	193
Denmark	0	4	4	2	1	1	5	0	17
Dominican Republic	4	2	4	0	2	1	5	1	19
Ecuador	4	3	3	2	3	0	1	3	19
Egypt	126	81	60	71	52	46	108	56	600
El Salvador	2	0	1	0	1	4	0	0	8
Eritrea	13	11	2	5	3	0	11	9	54
Estonia	27	25	24	23	11	16	23	7	156
Ethiopia	24	18	16	11	13	8	15	6	111
Fiji	4	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	8
Finland	1	6	1	2	2	3	0	0	15
France	25	25	31	28	20	15	29	15	188
Gambia	1	4	3	5	3	3	1	2	22
Georgia	46	31	30	18	18	17	35	29	224
Germany	33	27	26	42	26	15	35	18	222
Ghana	123	64	41	32	26	33	51	20	390
Greece	8	13	14	13	15	8	5	4	80
Guatemala	3	3	1	0	1	2	1	0	11
Guinea	22	10	7	16	6	3	12	6	82
Honduras	2	0	0	0	5	0	1	0	8
Hungary	172	216	163	142	101	80	114	41	1,029
India	1,616	1,028	665	629	514	465	746	302	5,965
Indonesia	8	6	7	6	3	5	10	2	47
Iran (Islamic Republic Of)	74	36	31	27	0	15	49	54	286
Iraq	99	39	24	23	12	22	65	92	376
Israel	19	16	6	20	15	5	19	4	104
Italy	38	37	39	44	32	36	64	45	335
Jamaica	11	5	6	8	3	3	7	0	43
Japan	5	3	5	7	1	1	7	1	30
Jordan	9	10	7	16	5	5	14	8	74
Kazakhstan	7	6	6	9	7	4	8	6	53
Kenya	45	25	13	25	14	20	28	20	190
Korea, Republic Of (South Korea)	15	9	3	7	10	2	11	0	57
Kosovo / UNSCR 1244	35	19	11	10	10	12	23	4	124
Kuwait	12	7	3	3	5	1	9	14	54
Kyrgyzstan	5	4	1	0	1	2	3	1	17
Lao People's Democratic Republic	3	0	1	4	0	0	0	0	8
Latvia	328	380	392	308	221	146	240	73	2,088
Lebanon	17	19	7	6	12	12	28	6	107
Lesotho	0	3	6	1	0	2	2	1	15
Liberia	16	15	3	5	1	0	6	4	50
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	39	15	10	8	1	8	36	41	158
Lithuania	126	166	166	133	88	49	111	44	883
Malawi	17	12	13	4	10	8	19	14	97
Malaysia	149	111	68	76	39	27	69	27	566
Mali	0	1	1	0	1	3	4	2	12
Malta	0	0	1	0	1	1	3	0	6
Mauritius	76	74	68	76	68	59	85	46	552
Mexico	28	19	22	14	25	12	34	13	167
Missing	5	0	1	0	1	1	0	2	10
Moldova, Republic Of	131	70	43	26	32	30	42	8	382
Mongolia	19	16	19	10	8	5	25	15	117
Morocco	69	41	24	21	7	9	38	28	237
Mozambique	0	4	1	2	1	0	1	0	9
Multiple Nationality Recorded	1	1	1	0	0	0	2	2	7
Myanmar	10	9	3	1	1	0	6	5	35
Namibia	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	0	5
Nepal	42	32	13	17	16	25	23	10	178
Netherlands	7	4	5	6	5	0	9	1	37
New Zealand	26	31	15	14	14	9	28	10	147
Nicaragua	3	2	0	0	1	1	0	1	8
Niger	1	0	2	0	0	2	1	0	6
Nigeria	1,364	774	508	478	304	227	744	260	4,659
Other	6	1	1	3	1	2	2	0	16
Pakistan	730	419	340	363	125	136	611	466	3,190
Palestinian Territory, Occupied	23	9	9	10	6	14	20	16	107
Panama	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	5
Paraguay	0	5	1	0	0	2	1	0	9
Peru	15	11	5	8	5	6	3	3	56
Philippines	1,165	729	362	319	191	157	218	104	3,245
Poland	1,159	1,324	1,357	1,463	925	758	819	318	8,123
Portugal	11	11	14	18	4	9	10	12	89
Romania	902	756	763	819	552	538	721	370	5,421
Russian Federation	156	109	95	91	70	66	113	69	769
Rwanda	12	4	4	1	5	2	9	2	39
Saint Lucia	0	2	2	1	1	1	0	0	7
Saudi Arabia	1	1	0	0	0	0

Visa Applications

Ceisteanna (1365)

Seán Canney

Ceist:

1365. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Justice the reason a large percentage of Turkish students applying for visas to study English in Ireland are having their applications refused; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30751/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The Ankara Visa Office has seen a more than 50% increase in visa applications received in the year to date to the end of May 2022 in comparison with the same period in 2019 (before Covid-19 related travel restrictions). Long stay study visas account for more than 60% of those being received in 2022. In addition to this increase in applications, the Ankara Visa Office has received an extremely high number of incomplete applications, which is also adding to the longer processing times, given the resources that have to go into examining these applications.

It should be noted that a large number of study applications are being withdrawn and returned to the applicants as they are incomplete and contain little or no supporting documentation. These applications are being withdrawn, instead of being refused, in order to be fair to the applicants and to give them an opportunity to resubmit their applications with all the necessary documentation.

It is also important to note that the office in Ankara is not refusing a large percentage of English Language study applications: in fact the refusal rate for applications in 2022 to the end of May is just under 5%. This compares favourably with a refusal rate in the full year of 2021 of 2% and in 2020 of 10%.

The central concern in deciding on visa applications, as with all visa services worldwide, is to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the country's vital national interests by maintaining an effective immigration regime while at the same time facilitating travel for those who meet the criteria.  Each visa application is therefore decided on its own merits taking all factors into account.

Visa Applications

Ceisteanna (1366)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

1366. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the progress to date in the determination of applications in the case of persons (details supplied) who made their applications via the Embassy in Delhi a number of weeks ago; when applications are expected to be finalised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30755/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The persons referred to by the Deputy created online Join Family (Irish national) visa applications on 23 April 2022. The supporting documentation and relevant fees were applied on 28 April 2022 in the New Delhi visa office. These applications are currently awaiting comprehensive examination and the applicants will be notified as soon as a decision has been made by a Visa Officer.

Processing of family reunification visa applications, such as these, may take up to six months to determine from the date documentation is received in the relevant Visa Office.

The Visa Office endeavours to have applications of this nature processed earlier than this, however, this is not always possible. In order to be fair to all applicants, as you will appreciate, applications are processed in order, by date received in the Office. 

Applicants are advised not to pay for airline or other travel tickets without having first been issued with a visa. 

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility ([e-mail]), which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Citizenship Applications

Ceisteanna (1367)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

1367. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the progress to date in the application for citizenship of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30763/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

The application for naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy, continues to be processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, and will be submitted to me for decision in due course.

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 level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, 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. 

However, my Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and 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.

In 2021, my Department issued 11,512 citizenship decisions, which is the highest number of decisions made since 2015, and reflects positively the significant changes undertaken to date.

It is open to the applicant to contact the Citizenship Division of my Department at: [e-mail] at any time for an update on their application.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: [e-mail], which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Question No. 1368 answered with Question No. 1304.

Legislative Reviews

Ceisteanna (1369, 1370, 1376)

Seán Haughey

Ceist:

1369. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Justice if she will initiate a reform of the Powers of Attorney Act 1996, with particular reference to the list of those who can act as attorneys; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30807/22]

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

1370. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the current legislation in relation to powers of attorney which restricts the conferring of power on specified relatives and prevents persons from selecting others with whom they may prefer to trust such matters and if she will consider amending this provision. [30810/22]

Cian O'Callaghan

Ceist:

1376. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice if she has plans to review or reform the first schedule of the Powers of Attorney Act 1996 (details supplied) in light of changes in family relationships and structures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30860/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1369, 1370 and 1376 together.

Under the Powers of Attorney Act 1996, an adult who has decision-making capacity may appoint an attorney under an enduring power of attorney to make decisions on their behalf in circumstances where the person no longer has decision-making capacity.

Section 5(4) of the 1996 Act provides that an attorney under an enduring power must have attained 18 years and must not be a bankrupt, not have been convicted of certain offences, be disqualified under the Companies Acts or be the owner of a nursing home in which the donor of the power resides, or a person residing with or in the employment of the owner, unless, in that case, the person is a spouse, civil partner, parent, child or sibling of the donor. “Owner” includes a person managing the nursing home.

The 1996 Act does not otherwise restrict the appointment of a family member or relative as an attorney under an enduring power of attorney.

Section 9 of the 1996 Act provides that an attorney under an enduring power of attorney must comply with the notice requirements set out in the First Schedule of the Act before applying to court for registration of the power. These requirements include giving notice to specified family members.

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 provides a modern statutory framework to support decision-making by adults with capacity difficulties.

Part 7 of the 2015 Act makes provision for new arrangements for enduring powers of attorney. When Part 7 is commenced, new enduring powers of attorney will be required to be created in accordance with the 2015 Act. It will no longer be possible to create an enduring power under the 1996 Act once Part 7 has been commenced.

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022 proposes amendments to the provisions of Part 7 of the 2015 Act relating to enduring powers of attorney.

My colleague, the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth has responsibility for matters relating to the commencement or amendment of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.