Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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571. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he has considered an application by a person living in the UK (details supplied) seeking Irish citizenship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8413/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Citizenship Division receives approximately 1,000 applications per month and utilises the resources available to maximise processing and reduce waiting times. The Division are working very hard to maintain as prompt a service delivery as possible, given the volume of applications currently being received.

Unfortunately, last year significant delays were regrettably experienced regarding the registering of new applications and issuing of acknowledgment receipts. A concentrated effort has gone in to reducing the backlog of unregistered applications, including weekend work and over-time employees and this issue is nearly resolved.

I understand the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants and my Department has been working hard to clear backlogs.

Applications are processed in chronological order by date of application and currently the median processing time for applications stands at 19 months and a delay in the registration of an application will not impact the overall processing time of the application.