Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

370. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of an application for nationality for a child (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17999/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Foreign Births Registration (FBR) team was reassigned to our consular services at the beginning of the current public health emergency to operate a COVID-19 crisis call centre, assisting our citizens abroad.

Foreign Births Registration, by its nature, can be a detailed and complex process, often involving official documentation related to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. The Department has seen an increase in the number of applications received, from approximately 6,000 applications in 2015 to over 32,000 in 2019. Over 10,000 applications have been submitted to date this year. There are currently 27,000 applications waiting to be processed.

Applications that have been sent to the FBR team are being held securely and will be processed when normal services resume later in the summer. The expected processing time for FBR applications is between 12 and 18 months.

With regard to the specific application the Deputy has enquired about, I can confirm that a member of the the Foreign Birth Registration team acknowledged reciept of this application on 18 October 2019 and it will be processed in due course.