Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
755. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of citizenship applications for persons (details supplied) which were made through the foreign births register; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43241/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish Citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship.
Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen to date in 2022.
My Department is currently putting in place a number of measures that will address the volume of FBR applications currently on hand with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these citizenship applications by the end of this year.
Supporting documentation for the applications to which the Deputy has referred was received on 27 February 2020, and are currently being processed. A member of the FBR team has been in contact with the applicants in this regard.
