Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
843. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice if the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022, when enacted, will be used to clear the backlog of citizenship applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36356/23]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 recently passed all stages in the Oireachtas and was signed into law by the President on 5 July. The relevant provisions will be commenced as soon as possible.
The Act makes a number of amendments to the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 Act relating to naturalisation of children born in the State, citizenship ceremonies and other matters. Section 8 sets out a clear and specific procedure that will apply where a citizenship application is made for a child. It reduces from five to three the number of years residence required for a child born in the State to become eligible for citizenship by naturalisation. This will allow children who are currently on a pathway to Irish citizenship to obtain that status at an earlier stage.
The Act also clarifies the ‘continuous residence’ requirement for all persons applying for naturalisation.
In addition to the new statutory provisions, there are significant changes underway within the naturalisation process as the Citizenship Division examines how it can reduce the backlogs that have arisen largely due to the legacy of restrictions imposed on staff attendance in the office during the pandemic. The Act, in conjunction with these changes should have an impact on applications being received by Citizenship Division, which will allow resources to be maximised to processing of existing applications
Finally, I can advise the Deputy that the Citizenship Division of my Department intends to regularly communicate with all applicants on a quarterly basis into the future, to keep them updated on the status of their application.
