The Cabinet has approved Justice Minister Michael McDowell's proposal to allow an estimated 17,000 non-national parents of Irish-born children to apply for citizenship in early January.
These parents have been in a legal limbo since the Supreme Court ruled almost two years ago that they were not entitled to remain on the basis that their children were Irish.
A spokeswoman for Michael McDowell has told RTÉ News that no applicant will be allowed to work while their application for residency is being processed.
But the Government estimates that all such requests will be processed within about six months.
After that time the applicants will be entitled to work here while awaiting a decision on whether they will be granted citizenship.
