Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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443. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when a foreign birth registration application will be processed for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53028/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department is responsible for citizenship by descent through the Foreign Births Register under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the processing time for FBR applications stood at 18 months due to an unprecedented surge in applications as a result of Brexit, and the necessary rigorous processing that applies to citizenship applications.

The application referenced was registered on 23 August 2019, and will be processed shortly. All documents received are being stored in a secure environment.

Due to the pandemic, FBR staff have been reassigned to assist in the delivery of essential services. This has resulted in a pause in overall FBR processing. FBR staff have continued to provide an emergency service for Foreign Birth Registration in cases of exceptional urgency, such as expectant parents, or stateless persons. In cases of exceptional urgency FBR applicants may continue to contact the Passport Service directly. For other applications, the Department operates a transparent general policy of processing FBR applications in order of receipt.

The Passport Service is actively planning to resume processing FBR applications as soon as possible. My Department is committed to allocating further resources to assist with the high volume of applications, with a focus on reducing turnaround times. In the medium term, changes to the FBR process to increase efficiencies and improve the customer experience will be delivered under the next phase of my Department's Passport Reform Programme.