Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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1439.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide an update on an application for citizenship in respect of a person resident in Dublin (details supplied). [31103/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by officials in the Citizenship Division of my Department that correspondence issued on 18 June 2024 to the solicitor of the person referred to by the Deputy, requesting further information and documentation in support of their application.

I understand the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants. I want to assure anyone who has an application for naturalisation submitted that the Citizenship Division of my Department is doing everything possible to progress applications as quickly as possible.

It is important to note that no two applications are the same and some take longer than others to process. All applicants must undergo Garda vetting. Unfortunately, it is the case that some international checks can take a considerable amount of time and are largely out of the control of my Department.

The previous backlogs in application processing in Citizenship had arisen largely due to the legacy of restrictions imposed on staff attendance in the office during the pandemic.

Since then, Citizenship Division have taken a significant number of steps to speed up the process for applicants. These included introducing an online digital application, online payments, and the introduction of eVetting. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that these changes are dramatically reducing processing times.

Based on the current application levels, I expect going forward that most straightforward applications based on residency will receive a decision within one year.

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: IMoireachtasmail@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.