Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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503. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress to date in the determination of an application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied); when it is planned to bring the application to a conclusion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29253/21]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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504. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of an application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29260/21]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 503 and 504 together.

An application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy on 6 February 2020. This application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.

The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time. It is not possible to say what the remaining processing time is for an application that is at an advanced stage. The status of an

application changes as it moves through the process.

Unfortunately, processing rates have been impacted by the necessary health and safety related restrictions imposed and we have been unable to hold in-person citizenship ceremonies since March 2020.

In addition to the Covid-19 disruption, a High Court case, which was subsequently successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal, also resulted in significant delays and the loss of over six months’ processing time.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: INISOireachtasMail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.