Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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1577. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will expedite an application for Irish citizenship (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19633/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.

This application is based on Section 16 'Irish Association', which can take longer to process than applications based upon residency.

Section 15 of the Act sets out the statutory conditions that must be fulfilled for a certificate of naturalisation to be granted. Section 16 of the Act gives discretion to waive the statutory conditions in certain circumstances, including where the applicant is of Irish descent or Irish associations (related through blood, affinity or adoption to a person who is or is entitled to be an Irish citizen).

Citizenship Division have written to all Section 16 applicants advising them of the new recently published guidelines on ‘Irish Association’ and have provided an opportunity to the person concerned to provide additional documentation should they wish. These new guidelines were developed in the interests of fair and transparent procedures, and comprehensive decision making. With the publishing of these guidelines, it should assist in reducing processing times for these complex cases.

Any application made under Section 16 should be supported by substantive documentation. This documentation should show that the Section 16 application is exceptional and one where the normal residency pathways to citizenship are not appropriate. However, there is no automatic right or entitlement to have any of the statutory conditions waived even where the applicant comes within the certain circumstances defined.

The person concerned can now directly check the status of their immigration application on the Immigration Service’s new Digital Contact Centre (DCC). They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at: https://portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/

As an Oireachtas member, you can also request the status of individual immigration cases 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.