Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Just to go back, there are gaps in our own legislation that may be working against the petitioner here. Once correspondence has gone over and back, we may see from the OPLA if the loopholes can actually be closed so that it may not happen to others who may get caught in the same position.

The next petition is No. 23 of 2023, “Irish Citizenship Naturalisation application processing time”, in the name of Mr. Olasojumi Shobande. According to the Department of Justice and immigration, the Irish citizenship application now takes 23 months which is apparently due to "backlogs from the pandemic and staff could only attend office in limited capacity".

This petition seeks to raise awareness that the Department of Justice and immigration is not in compliance with the 23-month application time, with over 500 people waiting over two years. The petitioner highlights the lack of communication from the Department of Justice. The petition seeks to address an issue that directly affects anyone who applies for Irish citizenship and to highlight that two years on from the pandemic, there is still a 23-month backlog. The committee recommends that the correspondence from the Department of Justice be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The next petition is No. 24 of 2023, “Electric Scooter Safety, Standards and Requirements”, was submitted by Mr. Alexander-Marckus Edwards. This petition relates to recent press releases stating that powered personal transporters, PPTs, or electric scooters should conform to a weight limit, including the battery, of 25 kg, and a power limit of 500 W. When the petition was before the committee on 19 October, the committee agreed that the response that was received from the Department of Transport be forwarded to the petitioner for comment. The petitioner has subsequently submitted his response to the Department. The petitioner believes that the Department of Transport's considerations do not consider the inherent dangers of riding an electric scooter or the heightened need for certain types of PPE, and contends that the age of 16 as a minimum is too young in general. The petitioner made various other points. The committee recommends that the correspondence from the petitioner be forwarded to the Department of Transport for comment within 14 days.