Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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662. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when persons (details supplied) will receive a decision on their Irish citizenship application which was submitted in June 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29600/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The processing of Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) will be gradually scaling up in line with the recruitment of additional resources. Due to the complex nature of the FBR process, the large increase in applications received following the Brexit vote in the UK, and the pause in the Service due to necessary Covid-19 restrictions, applicants should allow over 2 years from the receipt of supporting documentation for processing of FBR applications at this time. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, and the subsequent reassignment of FBR staff to assist in the provision of essential passport services, the Foreign Birth Registration Service was paused for nearly 15 months across the 2020-2021 period.

The applications referenced were registered on 14 July 2020, and are being stored in a secure environment. In order for the applicants’ address details to be updated, original proof of address such as a utility bill must be provided. This should be forwarded, with FBR application numbers included for reference, to the FBR team at the following address: Foreign Births Registration, PO Box 13003, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin.

FBR staff continue to provide an emergency service for Foreign Birth Registration in cases of exceptional urgency, such as expectant parents, or stateless persons. Such applicants may continue to contact the Passport Service directly. For other applications, the FBR service operates a transparent general policy of processing applications in order of receipt.

My Department is fully committed to the continued allocation of additional resources over the coming period to assist with the processing of the Foreign Birth Registration applications currently on hand and the high volume of new applications anticipated this year.