Numbers applying for Irish citizenship soars by 236% ahead of 'massively unfair' rules change

The number of people applying for citizenship soared by 236% after the Government’s announcement it was tightening the application process.

Some 8,765 applications from aspiring Irish citizens were received last month, up from 2,611 in August.

Cabinet agreed in September to approve proposals from justice minister Jim O’Callaghan to overhaul the citizenship application process in what was dubbed the “biggest reform in a generation”.

As part of the changes, aspiring citizens would have to show proficiency in English, Irish, or Irish sign language, as well as pass a civics exam.

New self-sufficiency rules will also be introduced, with the minister setting a specified minimum income to ensure new citizens do not become a burden on the State, with applicants also being disqualified if they benefited from social welfare payments or social housing within the last two years.

The period of reckonable residency will also increase from five years to eight years, with the final two years of residency before becoming applicable for citizenship required to be continuous.

The proposals were discussed by Cabinet on September 9, with Government sources indicating they will be enacted before the end of this year.

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman, to whom the figures were given following a parliamentary question to Jim O'Callaghan, told the Irish Examiner all the proposed changes had done was “scare” people who are applying for naturalisation.

The number of applications had fallen to below 3,000 per month between April and August. The number of applications in January, February, and March stood at 3,727, 3,225, and 3,215, respectively.

The average number of monthly applications between January and August was 2,810.

Mr O’Gorman, a former Cabinet minister with responsibility for migration, told the Irish Examiner Mr O’Callaghan’s proposed changes to the citizenship application process were “massively unfair”.

“The only thing the Government's proposed changes to citizenship have achieved is to scare thousands of law-abiding people who are working in important parts of our economy,” he said.

The Government's ill-thought-out proposals have caused the numbers seeking citizenship to triple in a single month.

“Jim O'Callaghan needs to do a rethink here. Adding an extra three years before a person can become a citizen, particularly for people who've already started the process, is massively unfair to people who have been playing by the rules.”

Mr O’Gorman also noted the legislation was being applied retrospectively to those who are already living in Ireland, something he said the Government was typically “rightly reluctant” to do.

He argued that “at the very minimum”, there needed to be a process in place for people who are already close to submitting formal applications.

John Lannon, chief executive of migrants' rights organisation Doras, said the increased number of applications was indicative of the increased communications to the group.

“We’re seeing a dramatic increase in the numbers of people coming to us who meet the criteria for citizenship and want to apply before the rules are changed,” he said.

“The minister’s proposed legislation will result in further clogging, in the short term, of a system that is already slow, with even greater processing delays than are being experienced at present."

Mr Lannon described the legislation as “harsh”, and “unnecessary”, warning it would deter key workers from coming to Ireland.

He called for the proposed changes to be scrapped.

Mr O’Callaghan told the  Irish Examiner last week the Government was considering a "more generous scheme" for people who are close to qualifying for citizenship but will be impacted by planned rule changes.