Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

432. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when a citizenship application for a person (details supplied) will be completed, in view that it is almost 30 months since the application was first lodged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53560/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I understand that the Deputy has been in contact with my Department's Immigration Oireachtas service regarding the person cited and a status update was recently provided. This application continues to be processed by the citizenship division of my Department.

I am aware that extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants, particularly considering the current processing times. I want to assure anyone who has an application for naturalisation submitted, that the Citizenship Division is doing everything possible to progress applications as quickly as possible.

I expect that going forward, the majority of applicants will continue to receive a decision within one year, however, it is important to note that no two naturalisation applications are the same and some take longer than others to process.

Given the importance of citizenship, robust and comprehensive checks must take place on each application. Unfortunately, some international checks can take a considerable amount of time and these are largely outside of the control of the Immigration Service.

Citizenship Division have also 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.

The length of time taken to process an application has dropped from 15 months in 2023, to 8 months in 2024.

The person concerned can now directly check the status of their immigration application on the Immigration Service’s new Customer Service Portal. They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at: .

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.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context

433. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he is aware of the fact his Department has spent €4.6 million on court cases brought by citizenship applicants due to long waiting times (details supplied), the means by which his Department will address these waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53578/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am aware that a small proportion of naturalisation applicants have taken legal action in relation to the processing time of their application. These cases should be taken in the context of an increasing number of applications. Last year in 2024, Citizenship Division received over 27,376 applications and made more than 31,000 decisions.

I understand that extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants. I want to assure anyone who has an application for naturalisation submitted, that the Citizenship Division is doing everything possible to progress applications as quickly as possible.

I expect that going forward, the majority of applicants will continue to receive a decision within one year, however, it is important to note that no two naturalisation applications are the same and some take longer than others to process.

Given the importance of citizenship, robust and comprehensive checks must take place on each application. Unfortunately, some checks, including international ones, can take a considerable amount of time and these are largely outside of the control of the Immigration Service.

Citizenship Division have also 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.

The length of time taken to process an application has dropped from 15 months in 2023, to 8 months in 2024.

In recent years, training has also been provided to Citizenship Division staff to ensure that unsuccessful applicants are fully aware of the reasons for a refusal. This has had a significant impact on the number of judicial reviews received. In 2024, the number of judicial reviews taken in relation to citizenship applications was 13% down on 2023.