Tests that do not exist yet

Asking applicants to show some English or Irish, and a basic knowledge of how the State works, is a reasonable idea in itself. The difficulty is that the Scheme makes both tests a condition of citizenship before there is a test to sit. ^[1]

Nothing about the tests has been decided

In September 2026 the Minister of State confirmed that the language standard, the testing method and the exemptions were still undecided. The civics content and pass mark were not settled either. All of this is left to regulations made after the Bill is passed. ^[2]

The Scheme allows the language test in English, Irish or Irish Sign Language and permits waivers. It says nothing about fees, where tests would be held, preparation material, how the Irish and Irish Sign Language options would be assessed, or when the service would start. ^[1]

The scale of the task

Ireland received 41,511 naturalisation applications in 2025. At two tests per person, with 20% extra sittings for retakes, that is about 99,627 sittings a year. ^[3]

This is a planning estimate: 200 operating days a year and one room per centre. The middle case needs 13 centres; if 30% of applicants were exempt from both tests, it would need nine. The application total includes children, some of whom may be exempt, so the real figure depends on exemption rules that do not exist yet. Calculation and assumptions.

Eligibility would depend on a test place

If the tests begin before the service can cope, people who meet every other condition would be waiting for an appointment rather than for a decision on their case. The Scheme contains no timetable or capacity commitment that rules this out. ^[1]

Tests written for the State

The two civics conditions are not worded the same way. The ordinary route asks for “a knowledge and understanding of Irish civics [civics, society and politics]”; the spouse route asks only for “an understanding of Irish civics”. The Bar of Ireland, in its October 2026 submission, notes that it is unclear whether spouses would sit the same test. ^{[1] [4]}

Spouses can qualify through residence anywhere on the island. Nothing in the Scheme says whether a civics test would cover Northern Ireland, the Good Friday Agreement institutions or North–South arrangements, whether it could be taken in Northern Ireland, or whether language and knowledge tests already passed for UK immigration purposes would count. The language options are English, Irish and Irish Sign Language, although British Sign Language is the main sign language of Deaf people in Northern Ireland and Ulster-Scots is a recognised minority language there. The waiver power is aimed at vulnerable applicants, not at people living in Northern Ireland. ^{[1] [4]}

The Bar adds a point of principle. Under the Good Friday Agreement, people in Northern Ireland may identify as Irish, British or both, and an Irish citizen there need not share a State-centred idea of Irishness. A spouse’s eligibility should not depend on knowing one. It also warns that knowledge-based civic tests have operated elsewhere as barriers to participation. It proposes that any civics test be objective and limited to what is relevant to citizenship on the island, and that the content and standard of both tests be set by regulations approved by each House of the Oireachtas, after consulting North–South bodies. ^[4]