Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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358. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality whether the 70 days for a person who is applying for Irish citizenship are consecutive days after the submission or 70 days over a period of the 19 months during the processing of the application; how is the application affected and if it becomes void or will the application continue to be processed. [39879/24]

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.

A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria for naturalisation can only be made after an application is received.

Applicants are required to have 5 years reckonable residence in the State prior to making an application, except for spouses of Irish nationals and people granted International Protection where the requirement is 3 years. In all cases, the final 12 months must be continuous residence in the State with up to 70 days allowed to facilitate foreign travel for business family or holiday purposes.

For any person who has already submitted their naturalisation application, the 70 days absence rule no longer applies. However, if an applicant intends to travel outside the State for an extended period of time then they should contact the Citizenship division of my Department with the details to ‘ ’. Applicants should quote their application number on all correspondence.

When making an application for citizenship by naturalisation, applicants must have the required reckonable residency to qualify for naturalisation and must intend in good faith, to continue to reside in the State after they are naturalised Irish Citizens.