Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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225. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current mean, maximum and minimum processing times, for the processing of minor applicants for Irish citizenship through naturalised Irish parents since 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40789/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Unfortunately, the information requested is not maintained in a way that allows my Department to separate processing times of minors from adults.

Applications made on behalf of minors are not treated as separate to standard adult’s applications and are processed as part of the normal overarching processing structures in Citizenship Division.

That said, minor applicants under the age of 16 do not require Garda vetting and bypass this part of the processing structure. Also minor applicants are not required to attend Citizenship Ceremonies. This obviously means minor applications are more straight-forward, in general, and normally lead to quicker decisions for minor applications.

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.

Minors cannot apply for naturalisation in their own right and any application must be made by their parent, legal guardian or person acting on the child's behalf "in loco parentis".

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.

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.