Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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334. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress that has been made to date on the expectation arising in the case of a person (details supplied); when it is expected that this case will be concluded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49433/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy was received in March 2022 and continues to be processed by my Department, with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation. It 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.

Applications are processed in chronological order by date received. Due to the high volume of applications currently on hand, regrettably, processing times can be up to 19 months.

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 any person to apply for a change of status to the conditions attaching to their immigration permission details are available on my Departments Immigration Services website at www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/changing-your-immigration-permission/

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.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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335. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current or expected position in relation to the determination of an upgrade of stamp three in the case of a person (details supplied) who has lived in Ireland for ten years and who is anxious to upgrade their residency status to facilitate nationalisation and whose current status impedes their access to education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49434/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department's records confirm that the person referred to by the Deputy has been granted a permission that is considered as reckonable for the purpose of making an application for citizenship.

The Immigration permission granted also provides that the holder can work without an employment permit and set up a trade or business in the State for a specified period, subject to condition and may access state funds and services as determined by the relevant Government Department or State Agency.

An application for naturalisation was received from the person concerned on 8 April 2021. This application continues to be processed, with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation.

The Citizenship division recently wrote to the person referred requesting further documentation and this should be provided by the person concerned as soon as possible, if they haven't already provided it.