Kathleen Funchion
Question:241. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of the foreign birth registration for a child (details supplied). [2472/23]
View answerDáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 January 2023
241. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of the foreign birth registration for a child (details supplied). [2472/23]
View answerMy Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish Citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship.
Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen in 2022.
During 2022, my Department implemented a number of measures to address the volume of FBR applications on hand, with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these applications. These measures, which include increased staffing directed towards the processing of FBR applications, have had a positive impact on the waiting time for applicants. The current waiting time for FBR applications is 11 months from receipt of supporting documents, down from over 2 years in mid 2022.
The FBR Service operates a transparent general policy of processing applications in order of receipt. Supporting documentation for the application to which the Deputy has referred was received on 3 June 2022, and is being stored in a secure environment pending entitlement checking.