Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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69. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when a decision will be made on an application for a foreign birth registration (details supplied); the reason for the delay in processing the application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44025/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs is responsible for processing applications for citizenship by descent through the Foreign Births Register under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended.

Once a person is entered on the Foreign Births Register, they are deemed an Irish citizen and are entitled to apply for an Irish passport. By its nature, Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) is a detailed and complex process; it can involve official documentation relating to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. To protect the integrity of the citizenship process, these applications require careful processing to validate the identity of the applicant, the documents they have submitted and their entitlement to Irish citizenship. Accordingly, all applications undergo rigorous and detailed checking by experienced officers at the passport service.

Due to the complex nature of the FBR process, it takes approximately nine months to process a fully competed FBR application that requires no further submissions. The processing time begins when the application form and supporting documents are received by the FBR Unit. When the application’s position in the queue is reached, an Entitlement Officer will be in contact with the applicant should any further clarification be required.

With regard to the application to which the Deputy is referring, the physical application form and supporting documents were received in the FBR Unit on 11/09/2024. Therefore, this application is still within the turnaround time for processing.