Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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545. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current waiting times for citizenship applications broken down by European and non-European economic area applicants in tabular form. [15856/22]

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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546. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the approximate increase in waiting times for citizenship applications due to the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will provide a comparison of the average waiting times in each of the years 2015 to 2021 and to date in 2022. [15857/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 545 and 546 together.

I am deeply conscious of how important the granting of naturalisation is to those who apply for it and my Department continued to accept and process citizenship applications throughout the pandemic and during all levels of public health restrictions.

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.

In addition, the combined impact of the 2019 High Court judgment in the Jones case and the necessary health restrictions arising from the pandemic, has unfortunately resulted in the processing time for standard applications increasing.

The current average processing time for naturalisation applications is 22 months. However it should be noted that last year, my Department made 11,512 citizenship decisions, which is the highest level since 2015.

As previously advised to the Deputy, statistics are not maintained by my Department to provide for a breakdown between EEA and non-EEA applicants.

The citizenship application process is reviewed on an ongoing basis to continually improve customer service quality. Feedback from applicants is taken on board and, as a result, a much more simplified, customer-focused and streamlined mechanism for applicants to provide their proofs of residence has recently been introduced.

To further speed up the processing of applications, a number of digitisation measures have also been introduced to increase efficiency in the process, including eTax clearance, eVetting and online payments. The end result of the digitisation process will be to free up more staff to focus on processing applications in a timely and efficient manner, to improve service to our customers and reduce waiting times. Additional staff have also been assigned to the citizenship team.

Since the beginning of this year, new applicants for citizenship no longer have to submit their original passport with their application. Instead, they can provide a full colour copy of their entire passport, including the front and back covers. This change in practice is welcomed by our customers and is also freeing up valuable staff time that up to now has been engaged in returning passports to applicants.

I am also pleased to confirm that, subject to public health guidelines, my Department intends to host an in-person citizenship ceremony on 20 June 2022 and further ceremonies on 5 and 6 December 2022 in Killarney.

The average processing time in months for citizenship applications for the years 2015 – 2021 are set out in the table below.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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547. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress to date in the determination of an application for citizenship in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15868/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The application for the person referred to by the Deputy 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. If any further documentation is required, it will be requested from the applicant in due course.

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.

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.