Paul Murphy
Question:976. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the steps she has taken to ensure that citizenship applications are not facing disproportionate delays based on the applicant’s country of origin. [46881/24]
View answerWednesday, 22 January 2025
Questions (976)
Written answers
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.
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.
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 nearly 31,000 in 2024. This has meant that the length of time it takes to process an application has dropped from 15 months in 2023 to 8 months in 2024.
Citizenship Division held 24 citizenship ceremonies last year, an increase from the 15 ceremonies held in 2023, and the 6 that were held in 2022. My Department will continue to hold ceremonies on a regular basis during 2025.