Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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1069. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the nationality breakdown of all new Irish citizens from 2014 to 2020 to date in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33377/20]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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1070. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of successful applicants for Irish citizenship waiting to be officially granted citizenship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33378/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1069 and 1070 together.

As of 27October 2020, there are 2,258 applicants awaiting a ceremony granting citizenship. This figure does not include minors who are not required to attend a ceremony. Approximately 400 minor certificates recently issued by post with 292 minor certificates to be issued in the coming period.

COVID-19 has unfortunately prevented the holding of our large-scale citizenship ceremonies, which is impacting the processing of applications. I was pleased to announce on 22 October 2020, that I have approved a solution to replace the ceremonies with a sworn affidavit on an interim basis and the priority drafting of a statutory instrument to implement this change. My Department will issue the naturalisation certificate on receipt of a statutory declaration. This will alleviate the current holdup of applications that have been approved and awaiting a ceremony to swear their allegiance to the Irish State thus enabling these applicants to start their new lives as Irish citizens. It remains my intention that large scale ceremonies will recommence once circumstances allow.

The following table sets out the certificates of naturalisation issued between 1 January 2014 and 30 September 2020, by nationality. It includes both adults and minors and covers all application categories. In total, there were 72,349 certificates issued between these dates. In addition to those listed in the table, there were a further 51 countries where a total of 260 certificates of naturalisation were issued to 10 or fewer of their citizens. No further breakdown is provided as the small numbers involved may lead to the identification of the individuals concerned.

The 51 'Other' countries are:

El Salvador; Fiji; Bahrain; Cambodia; Cyprus; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Mozambique; Senegal; Costa Rica; Nicaragua; Niger; Saint Lucia; Burkina Faso; Honduras; Mali; Saint Vincent And The Grenadines; Barbados; Chad; Panama; Central African Republic; Grenada; Guinea-Bissau; Malta; Mauritania; Namibia; Seychelles; Tajikistan; Haiti; Montenegro; Oman; Suriname; Bhutan; Dominica; Guyana; Luxembourg; Madagascar; Sao Tome And Principe; Saudi Arabia; Solomon Islands; Tonga; United Arab Emirates; Antigua And Barbuda; Belize; Brunei Darussalam; Cape Verde; Comoros; Equatorial Guinea; Iceland; Nauru; Norway; and Turkmenistan.