Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will take my opportunity now and come back to Deputy Chambers for a supplementary question afterwards if that is okay. I wish to raise a number of matters. I will avoid repetition as best I can.

The citizenship section has recently decided that periods of absence from the State - and we are talking about periods in excess of six weeks per year - will be deducted from people's reckonable residence. This means that if they have lived here for five years but have spent, say, seven weeks in one of those years visiting family or a dying relative or for some other purpose or reason - all verifiable, I am sure - INIS will nevertheless consider that they have lived here for four years and 45 weeks only. I find it difficult to understand the purpose behind this decision. It may reduce the number of naturalisation certificates granted at any given time but certainly slows up the process because they do not qualify in terms of the period for assessment and acceptance.

Could Mr. Kirrane offer a reason INIS has adopted this position on that relatively new ruling?