Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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441. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of a citizenship application (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41204/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The naturalisation application of the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.

The fees to be paid by an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation are governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 569 of 2011). The application fee is €175.

A certification fee of €950 is then required following a positive decision being reached on the naturalisation application.

The standard certification fee is set at €950, while a reduced fee of €200 applies in the case of an application made on behalf of a minor or in certain cases where the application is made by a widow, widower or surviving civil partner of an Irish citizen. In the case of recognised refugees and stateless persons, there is no certification fee.

The State has not increased the fees for naturalisation applications since 2011.

There is no provision in the Regulations for a discretionary waiver or reduction of fees, or for differing fees to apply to different nationalities, or based on the length of residency in the State.

All of the fees payable under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, are kept under ongoing review by my Department. However, there are no current plans to amend the fees.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by email 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 email service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.