Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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560. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of appeals that the single person committee of inquiry for refusal of application of Irish citizenship on grounds of national security has processed since its establishment; and the number of successful appeals in tabular form. [57943/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Single Person Committee (SPC) process was established by My Department to aid in the consideration of naturalisation applications where concerns of a national security nature have been raised.

The Single Person Committee (SPC) examines these cases and reports to me with a recommendation to:

- Release the relevant information

- Partially release the information

- Not release the information

- Release the “gist” of the information (in line with the court recommendation that led to this process).

Following an operational review of the process, where appropriate, an intention to refuse letter is issued where national security concerns arise. It is outlined to the applicant the grounds for the intended refusal and the applicant is informed of the option of invoking the SPC process. The Terms of Reference of the Single Process Committee have been amended to reflect this change and will be posted to the Immigration Services website.

To date, the Single Process Committee has considered the following number of reports:

- 3 x applications referred to SPC (2 of which have been reviewed with a report submitted to me and 1 application is currently pending).

- 4 x applications were submitted to SPC but have been subsequently withdrawn.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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561. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she intends to introduce an appeals mechanism for applications of citizenship which are refused on grounds other than national security; and, if not, the rationale for same. [57944/22]

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.

All applications for a certificate of naturalisation are processed in line with the eligibility criteria as set out under this Act.

The 1956 Act as amended does not provide for an appeals mechanism for the refusal of an application for a Certificate of Naturalisation. However, it is open to a person to make a further application for the grant of a certificate of naturalisation at any time. When making a new application an unsuccessful applicant is asked to consider the previous reasons for refusal.

While there are no current plans to introduce an appeals mechanism for applications of citizenship which are refused on grounds other than national security, officials in my Department keep such matters under constant review.