Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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661. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress to date in the determination of an application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) which was submitted in March 2022, if all is in order with the application; if the application can be expedited given the urgent need to travel to visit sick elderly relatives in South Africa; if a travel document can be facilitated in such circumstances given that the parents are both Irish citizens; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51790/22]

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

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, median processing times can be up to 19 months.

For any person who has already submitted their naturalisation application, the six weeks absence from the State rule no longer applies. However, if they intend to remain outside of the State for  significant periods of time then they should contact Citizenship division at: citizenshipinfo@justice.ie with the details of same. 

While awaiting a decision on their application a person is free to travel from the State. However, if their IRP card has expired and they are a visa-required national, they will require a visa to return to the State. They can apply to their local Visa Office/Embassy for the relevant visa to allow them to travel back to Ireland.

In addition any person travelling must be in possession of a national passport. My Department is not in a position to provide assistance with obtaining a new or replacement national passport. This is a matter for the relevant national government. However, the person concerned may consider applying to my Department for a Travel Document. A Travel Document is an official document which assists qualifying non Irish nationals who are resident in Ireland to travel. Further information is available on my Department's website at: 

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. 

The 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.

Please also be advised that 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.