Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 513: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the delay in the processing of an application for naturalisation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and when a decision will issue. [9498/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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A valid application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy was received in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) in May 2010. The application is at an advanced stage of processing. The person concerned will be informed of my decision on her application in due course.

As the processing requirements and time taken to complete necessary checks vary from case to case, it is not possible to provide a specific date for determination of individual applications. I can inform the Deputy that good progress continues to be made in reducing the time taken to process the generality of applications. The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.