Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1486.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a citizenship certificate can issue following the recent attendance at a ceremony in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31474/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, over 10,000 people were naturalised at the Citizenship Ceremonies held across June 2024.

I can advise the Deputy that all Certificates of Naturalisation for the attendees of these ceremonies are currently in the process of being printed and will be issued via registered post.

I am aware that following some previous ceremonies there were delays in certificates being received and this is very much regretted. My Department has recently implemented new procedures which will reduce the waiting time for our new citizens to receive their certificates and I understand that all Certificates will be issued within the next few weeks.

I want to assure anyone who is waiting for their Certificate of Naturalisation that they do not need to renew their immigration permission whilst they await a Certificate.

In just over two years the Citizenship Division of my Department has gone from processing around 12,000 applications a year to processing over 20,000 applications in 2023 and has already made more than 16,000 decisions to date in 2024.

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.