Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that this is a legacy issue. I know some cases are complicated. However, let us be blunt and straight here; it is a legacy issue. As well as staff not being available because of the Covid pandemic, staff were also reassigned to other matters. Have they been brought back into this section? When does the Minister of State expect the backlog to be cleared? In the example I quoted, the person has been waiting since March 2021, which is over two and a half years. This person is working away but is totally restricted. I now understand that the e-vetting will start for that person. How long will the e-vetting take? Will the e-vetting take into account that that person has now been waiting - through no fault of their own - since March 2021? Will that person now wait another two years to get the citizenship? What resources are necessary? Specifically, are the later applications in 2022 and 2023 being prioritised to give a faster processing time while the backlog is not being dealt with adequately? Surely priority should be given to the backlog and adequate resources assigned.

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