Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
166. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of naturalisation applications received, rejected and approved in each respective year from 2021 to 2025 inclusive, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6200/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can inform the Deputy that my Department held 25 citizenship ceremonies last year, and more than 30,000 naturalisation certificates were issued to new Irish citizens.
My Department has taken a significant number of steps to speed up the processing times for applicants. These included introducing an online digital application, online payments and the introduction of eVetting. This digitisation has facilitated a record number of citizenship decisions made last year. In just over two years, my Department has gone from processing around 12,000 applications a year to processing over 20,000 applications in 2023, more than 31,000 decisions in 2024 and over 30,000 in 2025.
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.
The table below shows the number of applications received, granted and refused from 2021 to 2025.
|
Year |
Applications Received |
Granted |
Refused |
|
2021 |
11,975 |
10,490 |
696 |
|
2022 |
17,204 |
14,249 |
404 |
|
2023 |
22,690 |
19,464 |
129 |
|
2024 |
27,032 |
29,868 |
187 |
|
2025 |
40,479 |
26,400 |
377 |
