Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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712. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when an application for naturalisation (details supplied) will be determined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44058/24]

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

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.

It is important to note that no two applications are the same and some take longer than others to process.

All applicants must undergo Garda vetting. Unfortunately, it is the case that some international checks can take a considerable amount of time and are largely out of the control of my Department. The previous backlogs in application processing in Citizenship had arisen largely due to the legacy of restrictions imposed on staff attendance in the office during the pandemic.

Since then, 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.

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

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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713. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to advise if the team in the naturalisation section of her Department have cleared the 4,000 paper applications, as committed to in an update circulated to applicants in May 2024 that confirmed the backlog would be cleared by the end of the summer; how many paper applications remain to be decided on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44059/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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.

Of the applications received in 2022, I can advise the Deputy that 2,229 decisions have issued since the communication in May of this year. The remaining applications, from 2022 or before, are either more complex cases or ones where additional information is required before a final decision can be made.

Citizenship Division continue to take steps to finalise outstanding applications, including making contact with applicants directly to resolve outstanding matters wherever possible.

It is important to note that no two applications are the same and some take longer than others to process.

All applicants must undergo Garda vetting. Unfortunately, it is the case that some international checks can take a considerable amount of time and are largely out of the control of my Department.

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 28,000 decisions to date in 2024.

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 significantly reducing processing times. I expect that going forward the vast majority of new applicants will receive a decision within one year.