Minister Flanagan welcomes 355 new citizens at citizenship ceremony at
the University of Limerick
Over 100,000 people granted Irish Citizenship since 2011
Citizenship Ceremony will be live streamed here:
http://justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/WP17000199
19 June 2017
The Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan TD today welcomed
355 new Irish citizens at a citizenship ceremony hosted by the University
of Limerick.
Speaking at the ceremony Minister Flanagan said "It is a great honour for
me to be here today to welcome our newest citizens. It is very fitting that
one of my first official duties as Minister for Justice and Equality is to
attend a citizenship ceremony. Becoming a citizen goes to the very essence
of our democracy and constitutional principles, principles which as
Minister for Justice and Equality I have the honour to uphold.
Welcoming our newest citizens Minister Flanagan said "The ceremony today is
of course a joyous occasion for our new citizens but it is also a day of
celebration for our nation. Ireland has sent our people abroad to the
furthest corners of the world and it is important that as an open,
inclusive society that we welcome those who seek to become Irish
citizens.The people who are here today have made Ireland their home. They
are our neighbours, our friends, our work mates who have enriched our
culture by bringing their own unique traditions with them".
Minister Flanagan acknowledged and thanked the University of Limerick for
hosting this event and highlighted the importance of bringing ceremonies to
different parts of the country "As a rural TD I am delighted that these
ceremonies have been brought to different parts of the country and this is
something that I will continue in my time as Minister. I would like to
thank President Fitzgerald of UL for hosting the ceremony today which is of
great credit to this institution".
In order to allow Irish people witness what happens at a Citizenship
Ceremony the Department of Justice and Equality will be live streaming the
ceremony on the Department of Justice and equality website at -
http://justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/WP17000199
Note for Editors
STATISTICS
Total number going to Ceremony
Ceremony - 355
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Since citizenship ceremonies were first introduced in June 2011 a total of
124 Citizenship Ceremonies have been held at which a total of 76,000
applicants received their Certificates of Naturalisation. If we include
minors, who are not required to attend a ceremony, the total granted Irish
citizenship is over 100,000.
· In 2016 four ceremony days were held; one in Waterford for
approximately 100 people and the other three in the Convention Centre
Dublin, where over 7,800 people received their certificates of
naturalisation in 8 ceremonies. One ceremony has been held in 2017 so far
at which over 3,000 applicants attended.
· The top nationalities of persons naturalised since 2011 were:
Poland, India, Nigeria, Romania, Philippines, Pakistan, Latvia, Brazil,
China (incl Hong Kong) and United States of America.
· In total, nationals of 178 different countries became Irish
citizens since 2011.