Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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190. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if uniform standards are applied, in all cases and in all consulates, in relation to delays to citizenship applications and regarding requirements for birth certificates for those seeking Irish citizenship (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7359/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Irish Embassies and Consulates abroad accept applications for Irish citizenship through Foreign Birth Registration. Some Missions receive few if any applications while others, particularly where there is a large Irish community, receive large numbers of applications. The processing time for citizenship applications varies from place to place, and is dependent on the number of applications received and the resources available at the Mission to process those applications. While the Department aims to process all applications as quickly as possible, there is no uniform processing time for citizenship applications and some delays have been unavoidable where high volumes of applications are received.

All applications for Irish citizenship through Foreign Birth Registration must be accompanied by certain documentation depending on the type of application involved. My Department's website, , lists the documentation that must be submitted in each case. Missions may ask for additional documentation or information if a particular application is incomplete or raises additional questions requiring further clarification or validation.

The documentation submitted with FBR applications is particularly important in proving entitlement to Irish citizenship and safeguarding against possible fraud. Applicants submit a wide range of both Irish and foreign birth and other certificates. There is no common standard applied to birth, marriage and death certificates around the world and certificates from different countries and different periods of time display different types of information.

It should be noted that while Irish certificates have all been issued in a standard format since 2003, many applicants will submit Irish certificates which were issued prior to 2003 when both long and short form certificates were the norm. The continued reference to 'long form' certificates in the list of documentation required is there to assist these applicants in differentiating which type of pre-2003 certificate is acceptable.

Officials in the Consular Services Section of my Department would be happy to follow up with the Deputy to get further details in relation to the application (including actual name of applicant and a reference number) so that they can ascertain its current status and likely time frame for decision.