Foreign Birth Registration

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 March 2023

Tuesday, 21 March 2023

Ceisteanna (528, 533)

Holly Cairns

Ceist:

528. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he is taking to address the backlog of applications to the foreign birth registry system. [12787/23]

Brendan Smith

Ceist:

533. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures that will be implemented to eliminate delays in the processing of foreign birth register applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13121/23]

Freagraí scríofa

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs

I propose to take Questions Nos. 528 and 533 together.

My 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 in 2022.

During 2022, my Department implemented a number of measures to address the volume of FBR applications on hand, with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these applications. These measures, which include increased staffing directed towards the processing of FBR applications, have been successful in reducing the waiting time for applicants. FBR applications are now being processed within the normal turnaround times of between 6 and 9 months from receipt of supporting documents, down from over 2 years in September 2022.

In recent months the number of FBR applications processed each week has been over 200% of the number of FBR applications received each week. As a result there is currently no backlog of FBR applications.

Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, is a detailed and complex process, often involving official documentation relating to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. Such documents take considerable time to validate.