Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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430. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the timeline for when citizenship certificates will be sent to all those who attended their ceremony in September; if new citizens who do not receive their certificate in time will be able to vote in any upcoming general election; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40957/24]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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431. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason citizenship certificates are not printed and given out at citizenship ceremonies to ensure new citizens can access their full rights, such as applying for a passport, immediately; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40958/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 430 and 431 together.

I can advise the Deputy that all Certificates of Naturalisation for the attendees of the recent citizenship ceremonies held last 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 Certificates have begun to be issued this week, with all to 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.

By not issuing Certificates on the day, my Department has been able to simplify the administrative steps required to be completed on the day, and this in turn has made it possible to significantly increase the number of attendees who can attend any one day of Ceremonies.

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 24,000 decisions to date in 2024.

If any applicant has a query on their certificate, they can email: citizenshipinfo@justice.ie.