James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Deputies for raising an important issue around citizenship. As a Minister of State, I am a great believer in plain English. In everything we are doing I want to see that there is a simple and clear process, especially so that people can engage with the system and get those simple and clear answers when necessary. I will be visiting Burgh Quay in the afternoon and processes are being put in place there to have a simple one-stop application in place where people can apply for information on their processes. Sometimes information is spread out among a number of people within the Department and it can be hard to collate that back. We should also triage the urgent applications.

On front-line workers, I greatly appreciate the fantastic work and commitment that has been given by all of them, well above and beyond the call of duty. They work in a challenging environment and deal with vulnerable people on a daily basis and their exceptional commitment has been particularly clear throughout the pandemic. However, all applications for a certificate of naturalisation are processed and assessed individually in accordance with legislation. There are no provisions to apply different criteria depending on the category of employment of the applicant. All applicants are required to meet minimum periods of reckonable residence and standard checks are carried out as part of the overall process. There is no way within the system to pull out people's employment details either. Under the legislation and the systems in place, it is simply not possible to prioritise one category of applicant over another.

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