Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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523. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reasons behind the delays in INIS; the steps he intends to take in order to reduce the delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11436/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I understand the Deputy's question relates to the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation.

The median processing time for applications now currently stands at 19 months. I understand the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants and my Department has been working hard to clear backlogs.

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.

My Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and a number of digitisation measures have been introduced to increase efficiency in the process.

In 2022 there were 13,613 Certificates of Naturalisation issued, including 1,719 in respect of minor applicants. This represents a 39% increase on the number of certificates issued for 2021 (9,780) and demonstrates my Department's commitment to processing applications in a timely manner.

There are ongoing developments and improvements being made to the citizenship application process. Significant reforms have been introduced for customers to streamline the number of proofs required to establish their identity and residency as part of the application process. A new scorecard was introduced to help applicants to complete their applications. Since this initiative went live, a preliminary review of applications received indicates that the quality of the applications has markedly improved.

I welcome this development which builds on other innovative measures introduced in the application process, including the deployment of “Tara” the e-chat bot, as well as e-payments, e-tax clearance and Gardaí e-vetting, and the removal of the requirement to provide the original passport when making an application, all of which have positively enhanced the applicant's experience.

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.