Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
764. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether it is intended that the time a person spends in Ireland as a beneficiary of temporary protection will be considered as reckonable residency for Irish citizenship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4356/26]
View answerBeneficiaries of Temporary Protection hold temporary permission to remain in Ireland, renewable annually for as long as the Directive remains in force.
On 15 July 2025, the Justice and Home Affairs Council extended Temporary Protection by a year until March 2027, providing certainty for beneficiaries who can continue to avail of the protections that the Directive provides.
In addition, the Government has agreed to opt in to an EU proposal for a Recommendation related to a coordinated exit from Temporary Protection. While not binding, this recommendation outlines a series of measures to pave the way for a smooth and coordinated approach to transitioning out of Temporary Protection for displaced people from Ukraine. It also acknowledges the inherently temporary nature of temporary protection and that it therefore must eventually end.
The proposed recommendation focuses on four sets of measures:
1. Promote and facilitate the transition to other legal statuses before the end of temporary protection;
2. Pave the way for a smooth and sustainable reintegration in Ukraine;
3. Ensure information provision to displaced persons; and
4. Ensure coordination, monitoring and exchange of information among Member States and with the Ukrainian authorities.
On 16 September 2025, the recommendation was adopted by Member States.
This recommendation is actively informing ongoing work across Government on approaches to managing the exit from Temporary Protection. Ireland’s objective is to achieve a coordinated and orderly exit from temporary protection through advancing the above measures.
It is existing policy that temporary immigration permissions do count toward reckonable residence for the purposes of naturalisation in Ireland. This applies, for example, to student immigration permissions. To align with existing policy and to provide legislative clarity, I intend to amend the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 to explicitly exclude Temporary Protection under the Temporary Protection Directive from the residency accrual provisions of the 1956 Act.
The impact of the exclusion of time spent under Temporary Protection from the calculation of reckonable residence will be carefully considered as part of the ongoing work across Government on approaches to managing the exit from Temporary Protection.
