Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1137.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when a certificate of naturalisation will issue in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34985/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm to the Deputy that certificates of naturalisation have been issued via registered post for any person who was conferred with Irish citizenship at the June ceremonies.

Over 10,000 people were naturalised at the Citizenship Ceremonies held across June 2024 and I appreciate there was some delay in issuing certificates as a result.

My Department has recently implemented new procedures which will reduce the waiting time for our new citizens to receive their certificates going forward.

If any applicant has a query on their certificate, they can email citizenshipinfo@justice.ie.

In just over two years the Citizenship Division of my Department has gone from processing around 12,000 applications a year to processing over 20,000 applications in 2023 and has already made more than 16,000 decisions to date in 2024.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at, IMoireachtasmail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1138.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when a naturalisation certificate will issue in the case of a person (details supplied) who attended the citizenship ceremony in Dublin at 3pm on 21 June 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34988/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm to the Deputy that certificates of naturalisation have been issued via registered post for any person who was conferred with Irish citizenship at the June ceremonies.

Over 10,000 people were naturalised at the Citizenship Ceremonies held across June 2024 and I appreciate there was some delay in issuing certificates as a result.

My Department has recently implemented new procedures which will reduce the waiting time for our new citizens to receive their certificates going forward.

If any applicant has a query on their certificate, they can email citizenshipinfo@justice.ie.

In just over two years the Citizenship Division of my Department has gone from processing around 12,000 applications a year to processing over 20,000 applications in 2023 and has already made more than 16,000 decisions to date in 2024.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at, IMoireachtasmail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1139.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when an application for naturalisation will be finalised in the case of a person (details supplied), given the length of time it has been pending; if there remains any outstanding matters on this application; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34993/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.

This application is based on Section 16 'Irish Association', which can take longer to process than applications based upon residency.

I understand the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants. I want to assure anyone who has an application for naturalisation submitted that the Citizenship Division of my Department is doing everything possible to progress applications as quickly as possible.

It is important to note that no two applications are the same and some take longer than others to process.

All applicants must undergo Garda vetting. Unfortunately, it is the case that some international checks can take a considerable amount of time and are largely out of the control of my Department. The previous backlogs in application processing in Citizenship had arisen largely due to the legacy of restrictions imposed on staff attendance in the office during the pandemic.

Since then, Citizenship Division have taken a significant number of steps to speed up the process for applicants. These included introducing an online digital application, online payments, and the introduction of eVetting. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that these changes are dramatically reducing processing times.

Based on the current application levels, I expect going forward that most straightforward applications based on residency will receive a decision within one year.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at, IMoireachtasmail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1140.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when a naturalisation certificate will be issued in the case of a person (details supplied) who recently attended a citizenship ceremony; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34994/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm to the Deputy that certificates of naturalisation have been issued via registered post for any person who was conferred with Irish citizenship at the June ceremonies.

Over 10,000 people were naturalised at the Citizenship Ceremonies held across June 2024 and I appreciate there was some delay in issuing certificates as a result.

My Department has recently implemented new procedures which will reduce the waiting time for our new citizens to receive their certificates going forward.

If any applicant has a query on their certificate, they can email citizenshipinfo@justice.ie.

In just over two years the Citizenship Division of my Department has gone from processing around 12,000 applications a year to processing over 20,000 applications in 2023 and has already made more than 16,000 decisions to date in 2024.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at, IMoireachtasmail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.