Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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376. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when an application for naturalisation will be completed (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50737/26]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The naturalisation application 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 (including the 5 year residency requirement) in certain circumstances. This includes where the applicant is a direct descendant of someone who is or was an Irish citizen (for example, a grandparent), has a family connection to an Irish citizen (including by blood, adoption, or civil partnership), or is related by affinity, meaning a close relationship through a spouse’s family.

Last year my Department published new guidelines for applications on the basis of Irish Associations under Section 16(1)(a) of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956. They set out the factors that may be considered when deciding whether to waive the statutory conditions in certain circumstances, including where the applicant is of Irish descent or Irish associations. Details of the guidelines are available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/how-to-become-an-irish-citizen-guide/ .

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