Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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323. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if, where a family is applying for citizenship, they can all apply under the same certified birth, marriage and death certificates, rather than having a separate one for each of them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38529/24]

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 and assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

It is open to anyone to make an application for citizenship once they meet the criteria as set out in the 1956 Act, as amended. Only once an application is received, can a determination on whether the applicant satisfies the statutory criteria for naturalisation be made.

Applications must be submitted separately based on each person.

The Citizenship Division of my Department have taken a significant number of steps to speed up the Naturalisation process for applicants, including but not limited to, introducing an online digital application, online payments, and the introduction of eVetting.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that these changes are significantly reducing processing times. I expect that going forward the vast majority of applicants will receive a decision within one year.

In the using the online digital application form, any supporting documentation may duplicated across different applicants.

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. Already in 2024, 16,000 decisions have been made in the first half of the year.

Last year, Citizenship Division more than doubled the number of ceremonies available to applicants with 15 held over the course of 2023. This was a significant increase on 6 Citizenship Ceremonies held in 2022. To date in 2024, my Department has hosted 17 ceremonies with over 14,000 attendees, with further ceremonies planned for later in the year.

Further detailed information on how to apply for naturalisation is available on my Department's Irish Immigration website at:

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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324. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to issue a citizenship certificate to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38543/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that all Certificates of Naturalisation for the attendees of the recent citizenship ceremonies held this month 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. I am advised that introducing a parallel temporary certification document at this stage would divert resources from the process of issuing the Certificates.

These steps are part of an overall programme of work to speed up the Naturalisation process for applicants. This includes introducing an online digital application, online payments, and the introduction of eVetting.

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.

If any applicant has a query on their certificate, they can email

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.