[
  {
    "date": "2026-09-17",
    "question_number": 277,
    "question": "277. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to the Government's approval of priority drafting of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026, the number of applications for naturalisation received in each of the years 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026; the minimum, maximum and median processing time for such applications in each of those years; the breakdown of such by nationality of applicant; and the number of certificates of naturalisation revoked in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [66111/26]",
    "answer": "Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration All applications for a certificate of naturalisation are assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. A determination as to whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria for naturalisation can only be made after an application has been received. Last week, Minister O'Callaghan and I secured Government approval for the priority drafting of legislation to strengthen Ireland's naturalisation framework. The proposed legislation is intended to both strengthen the integrity of the naturalisation system and align Ireland more closely with the processes in several other EU Member States. The number and nationalities of those applying for naturalisation are provided in the document at the link below. My Department continues to register applications received in 2025, and the information provided is current up to 30 September 2025. In the document at the link, countries of origin with fewer than 10 applicants have been grouped under \"Rest of the World\" to avoid the possibility of identifying any individual. The processing times for applications are outlined in the table below. Decisions issued in any given year may relate to applications received in previous years, due to the time required to process applications. It is not possible to provide a maximum or minimum processing time. Table 1. Citizenship application processing times Year Median Processing time in months 2021 24 2022 19 2023 15 2024 8 2025 8 *Figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing Finally, the grounds for the revocation of citizenship are as set out in section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (as amended). Changes to this process were made by the Court, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024; these changes were required to address issues identified in a Supreme Court judgment that had found the then revocation process to be unconstitutional. Amendments to the process of revocation of citizenship came into effect from 7 April 2025 and the revised provisions can be found at: revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/1956/act/26/section/19/revised/en/html Under the new procedure, where the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration decides to revoke citizenship, they may do so under the five grounds set out in the 1956 Act. A notification of this intention is issued to the individual, who will be provided with the opportunity to make representations, and has 28 days to so, before a decision is made to revoke their certificate of naturalisation. Following receipt of those representations, or on expiry of the 28 days, if it is decided to proceed to revoke the certificate of naturalisation, then the individual has 14 days in which to request a Committee of Inquiry. Upon receipt of this request, the Minister will appoint a Committee of Inquiry, which will be composed of a chairperson who will be a retired Judge of the Circuit Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal, or the Supreme Court, and two ordinary members with appropriate experience and qualifications. The Committee of Inquiry will be independent in its function of inquiry into the Minister's decision and can either affirm the decision or set it aside. In the last 10 years, 8 people have had their citizenship revoked, this includes two revocations since 7 April 2025. Naturalisation Applications Data"
  },
  {
    "date": "2026-09-16",
    "question_number": 883,
    "question": "883. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of citizenship revocation cases initiated, completed, discontinued and currently pending in each year from 2016 to date; the grounds relied upon in each case, categorised by grounds for revocation, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65007/26]",
    "answer": "Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration I propose to take Questions Nos. 883, 884, 885, 898, 907, 963 and 964 together. The grounds for the revocation of citizenship are as set out in section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (as amended). Changes to this process were made by the Court, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024; these changes were required to address issues identified in a Supreme Court judgment that had found the then revocation process to be unconstitutional. Amendments to the process of revocation of citizenship came into effect from 7 April 2025 and the revised provisions can be found at http://revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/1956/act/26/section/19/revised/en/html Under the new procedure, where the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration decides to revoke citizenship, they may do so under the five grounds set out in the 1956 Act. A notification of this intention is issued to the individual, who will be provided with the opportunity to make representations, and has 28 days to do so, before a decision is made to revoke their certificate of naturalisation. Following receipt of those representations, or on expiry of the 28 days, if it is decided to proceed to revoke the certificate of naturalisation, then the individual has 14 days in which to request a Committee of Inquiry. Upon receipt of this request, I will appoint a Committee of Inquiry, which will be composed of a chairperson who will be a retired Judge of the Circuit Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal, or the Supreme Court, and two ordinary members with appropriate experience and qualifications. The Committee of Inquiry will be independent in its function of inquiry into the Minister's decision and can either affirm the decision or set it aside. In the last 10 years, 8 people have had their citizenship revoked, including two revocations since 7 April 2025. The Deputy should note that a person can have their citizenship revoked on more than one ground under the Act. Of the eight revocations, seven were made under section 19(1)(a) on the grounds that the issue of the certificate was procured by fraud, misrepresentation, whether innocent or fraudulent, or the concealment of material facts or circumstances. One revocation was made under two grounds; • section 19(1)(b) on the grounds that the person to whom it was granted had, by an overt act, shown themselves to have failed in their duty of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State. • and/or section 19(1)(c) that (except in the case of a certificate of naturalisation which is issued to a person of Irish descent or associations) the person to whom it is granted has been ordinarily F59[resident outside the State or, in the case of an application for a certificate of naturalisation granted under section 15A, resident outside the island of Ireland] (otherwise than in the public service) for a continuous period of seven years and without reasonable excuse has not during that period registered annually in the prescribed manner his name and a declaration of his intention to retain Irish citizenship with an Irish diplomatic mission or consular office or with the Minister. My Department actively reviews cases relating to terrorism, fraud, organised and serious crime with a view to assessing whether citizenship revocation proceedings are appropriate. My Department does not maintain records in a format that would allow the information sought by the Deputy regarding custodial sentences, subsequent criminal convictions of naturalised citizens, or the specific circumstances in which citizenship revocation was considered but not pursued, to be readily extracted. Similarly, my Department does not maintain records categorised in the manner requested by the Deputy in relation to marriages or civil partnerships with Irish citizens, marriages of convenience, or cases where citizenship applicants were subsequently found to have provided false, misleading or fraudulent information in immigration, residence, international protection or citizenship processes. Accordingly, the detailed information sought is not available."
  },
  {
    "date": "2026-09-07",
    "question_number": 2397,
    "question": "2397. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the target processing times his Department has set for naturalisation applications for each of the years 2026 and 2027; the priority afforded to citizenship processing within his Departments work programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62108/26]",
    "answer": "Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration I propose to take Questions Nos. 2397, 2398, 2399, 2400 and 2451 together. It is important to note that no two naturalisation applications are the same and some take longer than others to process. Given the importance of Irish citizenship, robust and comprehensive checks must take place in respect of each application. Unfortunately, some checks, including international enquiries and verifications, can take a considerable amount of time and are largely outside the control of Immigration Service Delivery. While I expect that, going forward, most applicants will receive a decision within one year, this cannot be guaranteed in every case due to the individual circumstances and complexity of applications. The Citizenship Division currently has 81 staff assigned across all grades. Staffing levels are kept under constant review, taking account of operational needs, application volumes and available resources, and additional staff have been assigned to the team as required. The number of naturalisation applications received by the Department in recent years is set out in the table below. Table 1. Citizenship applications received 2021-2026 Year Applications Received 2021 11,975 2022 17,202 2023 22,690 2024 27,032 2025 41,511 2026 (to date) 22,055 * Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing. Citizenship Division has taken a significant number of steps in recent years to improve the application process and support more efficient case processing. These measures include the introduction of an online citizenship application process, online payment facilities and eVetting arrangements. These initiatives continue to improve the customer experience and support more streamlined processing. Approximately 6,000 applicants who have recently been approved for naturalisation are awaiting attendance at a citizenship ceremony. Each such applicant has received an invitation to attend the Citizenship Ceremonies being held on 17 and 18 September 2026. In 2025, 25 citizenship ceremonies were held and 29,300 certificates of naturalisation were conferred (adult and minor). In 2026 to date, 5 ceremonies have been held and 6,750 certificates have been conferred (adult and minor). My Department does not maintain statistics on the average length of time between the issue of an approval letter and an applicant's attendance at a citizenship ceremony. The scheduling of ceremonies is dependent on a range of operational factors, including venue availability and the number of applicants to be accommodated. The timeframe is also affected by the time taken by an applicant making the payment. There is no statutory processing time for naturalisation applications. However, the general objective of the Citizenship Division is to process straightforward applications as efficiently as possible. Citizenship processing remains a significant operational priority for my Department and I am committed to ensuring that the necessary resources and process improvements continue to be put in place to support the timely delivery of decisions. As of 31 August 2026, there were 51,882 active naturalisation applications being processed by the Citizenship Division of my Department. Of these, 38,748 applications (74%) had been in the system for less than 12 months, while 8,064 applications had been in the system for between 12 and 24 months and 5,070 applications had been in the system for more than 24 months."
  },
  {
    "date": "2026-09-07",
    "question_number": 2534,
    "question": "2534. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in respect of each revocation of a certificate of naturalisation under section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 during the past ten years, the number arising from fraud, misrepresentation or concealment of material facts, an overt act demonstrating failure of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, failure to meet the statutory residence requirements, by year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63285/26]",
    "answer": "Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration I propose to take Questions Nos. 2533, 2534, 2535, 2536 and 2543 together. My Department actively reviews files relating to terrorism, fraud, and organised crime with a view to assessing whether citizenship revocation proceedings are appropriate. The loss of citizenship has serious consequences, and each case is considered very carefully. In the last 10 years, eight people have had their citizenship revoked, including two revocations since 7 April 2025. Given the number of revocations, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the specific grounds on which citizenship was revoked in these cases as there is a possibility that a person may be identifiable by releasing such information. Of the eight revocations, seven were made under section 19(1)(a) on the grounds that the issue of the certificate was procured by fraud, misrepresentation, whether innocent or fraudulent, or the concealment of material facts or circumstances. One revocation was made under section 19(1)(b) on the grounds that the person to whom it was granted had, by an overt act, shown themselves to have failed in their duty of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State."
  },
  {
    "date": "2026-07-15",
    "question_number": 309,
    "question": "309. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of occasions on which Irish citizenship has been revoked under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 since the enactment of the new revocation procedures; and the breakdown of the grounds relied upon in each case. [53996/26]",
    "answer": "Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration I propose to take Questions Nos. 309 to 316, inclusive, together. I can advise the Deputy that it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the specific circumstances of the cases referred to. The grounds for the revocation of citizenship are as set out in section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (as amended). Changes to this process were made by the Court, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024; these changes were required to address issues identified in a Supreme Court judgment that had found the then revocation process to be unconstitutional. Amendments to the process of revocation of citizenship came into effect from 7 April 2025 and the revised provisions can be found at: revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/1956/act/26/section/19/revised/en/html Under the new procedure, where the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration decides to revoke citizenship, they may do so under the five grounds set out in the 1956 Act. A notification of this intention is issued to the individual, who will be provided with the opportunity to make representations, and has 28 days to so, before a decision is made to revoke their certificate of naturalisation. Following receipt of those representations, or on expiry of the 28 days, if it is decided to proceed to revoke the certificate of naturalisation, then the individual has 14 days in which to request a Committee of Inquiry. Upon receipt of this request, the Minister will appoint a Committee of Inquiry, which will be composed of a chairperson who will be a retired Judge of the Circuit Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal, or the Supreme Court, and two ordinary members with appropriate experience and qualifications. The Committee of Inquiry will be independent in its function of inquiry into the Minister's decision and can either affirm the decision or set it aside. In the last 10 years, 8 people have had their citizenship revoked, this includes two revocations since 7 April 2025. My Department actively reviews cases relating to terrorism, fraud and organised crime with a view to assessing whether citizenship revocation proceedings are appropriate."
  },
  {
    "date": "2026-01-22",
    "question_number": 483,
    "question": "483. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number granted citizenship in each of the past ten years, broken down by country of origin, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5341/26]",
    "answer": "Minister of State at the Department of Justice I propose to take Questions Nos. 482 and 483 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. Applicants are required to have 5 years reckonable residence in the State prior to making an application, except for spouses of Irish nationals where the requirement is 3 years (under section 15 of the Act). 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. Table 1 below shows the number of certificates of naturalisation that were issued in the last 10 years. In the attached document, the countries of origin of those issued a certificate are outlined. Any country of origin that is less than 10 has been amalgamated into \"Rest of the World\", this is to avoid possibly identifying any person. Whilst an individual application will record the residency and immigration permission being relied on, statistics are not maintained by my Department to provide for a breakdown of the type of immigration permission held prior to naturalisation. My department does however record naturalisation statistics based on application type which are outlined below in Table 2. Tables 1 and 2 Citizenship certificates by nationality"
  },
  {
    "date": "2026-09-16",
    "question_number": 894,
    "question": "894. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the provisions that will be made for individuals who are non-verbal or have other disabilities which may limit them in their ability to complete the new proposed language tests as part of the revised citizenship process; and if he will make a statement on the matter [65044/26]",
    "answer": "Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration I propose to take Questions Nos. 889, 894, 895, 897, 899, 905, 906, 912, 913, 914, 916, 920, 922, 924, 927, 938, 939, 941, 942, 943, 944, 948, 958, 961, 968, 969, 970, 971, 972 and 973 together. The 2025 Programme for Government contains a commitment to continue to implement a firmer migration system that, amongst other things, protects the integrity of our immigration framework. As Deputies may recall, last November, the Government approved a package of policy and legislative reforms to Ireland’s migration, citizenship, and naturalisation system, ensuring it is rules-based, efficient and more closely aligned with those of other EU Member States. Government recently approved the priority drafting of legislation to amend aspects of the Irish Naturalisation and Citizenship Act 1956. The General Scheme of the Bill, which will be published shortly, includes proposals to: increase the qualifying periods of reckonable residence from 5 to 8 years for applicants for naturalisation; create a power to introduce language tests in either English, Irish or Irish Sign Language, and an Irish civics, society and politics test; and ensure applicants for citizenship by naturalisation are self-sufficient. These measures are intended to support integration and strengthen public confidence in the citizenship system. The General Scheme provides for the introduction of language proficiency requirements but does not specify the standard to be attained. The Scheme proposes that the Minister may prescribe the required standard and verification process by regulation following enactment of the legislation. My Department will develop these regulations in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and relevant stakeholders. The Scheme also expressly provides for the possibility of waivers of the language requirement in prescribed circumstances, recognising the need to accommodate vulnerable applicants and ensure that the process does not operate unfairly or disproportionately for persons with disabilities or other specific needs. No final decisions have yet been made regarding the precise standard, testing methodology or exemptions. The Scheme proposes that applicants demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Irish civics and authorises the Minister to prescribe the applicable standard by regulation. The detailed content of any civics assessment, including the areas to be covered and any pass standard, has not yet been determined. The Scheme provides a framework under which the Minister may prescribe, by regulation, income thresholds, relevant social welfare payments and relevant housing supports that may be considered as part of an assessment of self-sufficiency. The legislation deliberately leaves these details to secondary regulations so that the approach can be carefully developed following consultation with relevant Departments. The Scheme proposes changes to the qualifying periods of reckonable residence by increasing the qualifying residence period for standard naturalisation applicants to two years' continuous residence immediately before application and six years' residence in the preceding ten years (cumulatively 8 years). An amendment to Section 15A of the Act is also proposed to increase the period of time a non-national spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen should be residing in the state to a cumulative 5 years before being eligible to apply for naturalisation and to insert a number of new criteria to reflect additions being made in section 15 of the Act of 1956, to ensure consistency between these cohorts of applicants. The Scheme also proposes an amendment of Section 16A of the Act to clarify that time spent residing in Ireland on temporary permissions and other ad-hoc schemes, including time spent in the State on the basis of temporary protection under the Temporary Protection Directive 2001/55/EC (which has been activated in respect of the invasion of Ukraine) is not reckonable for naturalisation purposes. It also contains an amendment of Section 6B to ensure consistency remains between Section 6(B)(4) and Section 16A (1). Section 6B (4) concerns the categories of residence by the parent of a child born in Ireland that entitle the child (if not otherwise an Irish citizen) to citizenship at birth. Finally, the Scheme proposes amendments to the revocation provisions in section 19 of the 1956 Act to provide an explicit power to revoke naturalised citizenship where this is considered necessary in the interests of public policy, public order or national security, and to streamline certain procedural aspects of the revocation process. The proposed amendments to reckonable residence periods for future naturalisation applications are intended to apply from enactment of the new Bill. Those seeking to apply under the current provisions will only be able to do so until the new Bill is enacted. The Scheme is focused primarily on citizenship acquired through naturalisation and associated provisions relating to naturalisation, reckonable residence and revocation of certificates of naturalisation. It does not contain proposals to amend the existing statutory provisions governing citizenship by descent or entry onto the Foreign Births Register. The General Scheme does not include specific provisions relating to members of the Defence Forces or propose special provisions in respect of residence accrued by persons who reside in the State solely for higher education purposes and matters relating to immigration registration fees fall outside of its scope. The policy objective underpinning the reforms is to strengthen the integrity, durability and public confidence in the naturalisation system by ensuring that applicants have demonstrated a sustained connection to Ireland before citizenship is granted. The Government remains fully committed to ensuring that Ireland remains an attractive destination for international talent and investment. The amendments affect the acquisition of citizenship and do not directly affect, nor are they intended to discourage, legal migration of those who move to Ireland to contribute through work, study or to join family members."
  }
]