Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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1292. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of an application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied). [29314/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The application for naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy, continues to be 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 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.

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.

However, my Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and 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.

In 2021, my Department issued 11,512 citizenship decisions, which is the highest number of decisions made since 2015, and reflects positively the significant changes undertaken to date.

It is open to the applicant to contact the Citizenship Division of my Department at: citizenshipinfo@justice.ie at any time for an update on their application.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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1293. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department will provide assistance in expediting naturalisation applications for those wishing to represent Ireland on an international stage in sports. [29315/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, and all applications are processed in line with the eligibility criteria as set out under the Act. Each application is assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Act. A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria attendant to naturalisation can only be made after an application is received.

All applications for citizenship are processed in chronological order by date received.

Applicants are required to have five years reckonable residence in the state prior to making an application, except for spouses of Irish nationals where the requirement is three years. In both cases, the final 12 months must be continuous residence in the State with up to six weeks allowed to facilitate foreign travel for business, family or holiday purposes.

Detailed information on Irish citizenship and the naturalisation process, along with the relevant application forms and guidance notes, is available on my Department's Irish Immigration website at: www.irishimmigration.ie/how-to-become-a-citizen/.

It is open to any applicant to contact the Citizenship Division of my Department at: citizenshipinfo@justice.ie at any time for an update on their application.