Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 September 2026
888. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons granted citizenship in each of the past five years who, at the date of application, had between five and six, six and seven, seven and eight, and more than eight years of reckonable residence, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65011/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra890. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department currently collects any information regarding the proficiency in English or Irish of persons granted citizenship; if so, the number granted citizenship in each of the past five years who were assessed as having limited or no proficiency in either language; and if not, the reason such information is not collected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65012/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 888 and 890 together.
All applications for a certificate of naturalisation are assessed individually based on the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria for naturalisation can only be made after an application is received.
Applicants are required to have five years' reckonable residence in the State prior to making an application, except for spouses of Irish nationals where the requirement is 3 years. In all cases, the final 12 months must be continuous residence in the State with up to 70 days allowed to facilitate foreign travel for business family or holiday purposes.
My Department does not collate statistics on the number of applicants who had reckonable residence in excess of the statutory minimum at the time they applied for naturalisation. Accordingly, the information sought by the Deputy is not available.
Proficiency in either English or Irish does not form part of the current statutory criteria for naturalisation. Accordingly, my Department does not collect or record information on applicants' proficiency in either language for naturalisation purposes.
Last November, the Government approved a package of policy and legislative reforms to strengthen Ireland’s migration and asylum system, ensuring it is rules-based, efficient and more closely aligned with those of other EU Member States. As part of this work, Minister O'Callaghan and I secured Government approval last week for the priority drafting of legislation to strengthen Ireland's naturalisation framework.
