Over 6,000 new Irish citizens conferred in Killarney

Retired President of the High Court, Mary Irvine

New Irish citizens take the oath during one of four ceremonies

Lynda Deszport from Canada who is living and working as a teacher in Clare

Vijay Raghavendran and Prasana Borkar, originally from India

Noriezl Gay-Farrell, originally from the Philippines

Andrea Cruz from the Philippines with her family John, Saoirse and Lorcan

More than 6,000 new Irish citizens are being granted citizenship in seven ceremonies being held at the INEC in Killarney this Monday and Tuesday.

It will see applicants from 140 countries around the world, and living in 32 counties on the island of Ireland, being conferred as Irish citizens.

Outgoing Justice Minister, Helen, McEntee, encouraged the new citizens to continue to contribute to building inclusive communities.

“In forging connections between our cultures, we can enrich our social fabric. Our new citizens play an essential role fuelling growth in our economy,” she said.

“They also contribute immensely to industries where we have labour shortages like construction, agriculture and healthcare. They also make our workforce more diverse and inclusive,” the minister said.

The presiding officers at the ceremonies are retired Justice Paddy McMahon and retired President of the High Court, Mary Irvine.

They will administer the Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State and the new Irish citizens will undertake to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.

Significant changes have been introduced in the citizenship division of the Department of Justice to speed up the application process for applicants, including the introduction of an online digital application, online payments and e-vetting.

Going forward, it is envisaged that the majority of applications based on residency will receive a decision within 12 months.

Applicants are required to have five years of reckonable residence in the State prior to making an application.

This year will see a record number of people take the final steps towards receiving their Irish citizenship, with over 30,000 decisions made in 2024.

The numbers represent a significant increase on the 20,000 decisions made in 2023 and is nearly double the number of decisions made in 2022.

A total of 143 of the applicants are from Kerry and the top nationalities taking out Irish citizenship today and tomorrow are:

* India: 1,147
* United Kingdom: 636
* Brazil: 609
* Romania: 494
* Poland: 417
* Nigeria: 353
* Philippines: 315
* South Africa: 246
* China and Hong Kong: 241
* USA: 191

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