The grounds for the revocation of citizenship are set out in section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended.
As advised to the Deputy in response to Parliamentary Question No. 65832/26 of 16 September 2026, changes to the citizenship revocation process were made by the Court, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024. These changes were required to address issues identified in a Supreme Court judgment concerning the previous revocation process. The revised statutory provisions came into operation on 7 April 2025.
Under the revised procedure, where the Minister proposes to revoke a certificate of naturalisation, a notice of intention to revoke is issued to the person concerned. The person is afforded an opportunity to make representations and has 28 days in which to do so. Following consideration of any representations received, or on the expiry of that period, a decision may be made to proceed with the revocation. Where such a decision is made, the person concerned has 14 days in which to request a Committee of Inquiry. A Committee, where requested, is independent in the exercise of its functions and may affirm the decision or set it aside.
Since the revised provisions came into effect on 7 April 2025, two notices of intention to revoke a certificate of naturalisation have been issued. In both cases, the process subsequently resulted in the revocation of the certificates concerned.
To date, no Committee of Inquiry has been requested and, consequently, no Committee of Inquiry has been appointed. Accordingly, there have been no Committee decisions either affirming or setting aside a decision to revoke.
