Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important matter. Will the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform explain why the wait for a certificate of naturalisation from his Department's citizenship section is, without exception, over two years?

I am aware of the situation because of the case of a consultant plastic surgeon who is giving sterling service to the Irish health service and who was five years of age when she first came here. She attended school here but left when she was 13, to return at the age of 19 to study medicine in Ireland. She has been living here for more than half of her 29 years on this earth. Both her parents are naturalised Irish citizens and have lived here for the past 20 years. Her father is a consultant pathologist also giving sterling service to the health service in the west. Both he and his daughter pay their taxes to the State.

This girl has been in Ireland for 18 years. She is a Catholic, and she is now a consultant plastic surgeon. She holds an Iraqi passport, which is problematic for her as she must renew it every two years. She is employed in Ireland full-time and regularly travels abroad to represent her profession at various conferences she is required to attend. It is galling that she must apply for permission before leaving Ireland, where she has been all her life, where all her friends are, where her family is based, and which she regards as home. She must seek a visa to be allowed to re-enter the country.

It does not seem right that her situation should be so in a country that she regards as her own and of which her father and mother have been naturalised citizens for the past 20 years. This is her permanent home and the only place that she has known as such; it is where all her friends are. The passport she holds is also problematic, since she has difficulty securing visas to visit certain countries. She feels that her lack of an Irish passport interferes with her professional career and future prospects. Like her father, she has dedicated her life to the care of the Irish people.

I ask that the Minister examine this case. I know that a timetable is involved. When I previously asked a question, I was told by the Minister, Deputy McDowell, that the average processing time for a naturalisation application was 24 months. I was also told by the Minister that it would be September 2007 before the file was presented to him for a decision although it was received in his Department's citizenship section on 26 September 2005. That is a 24-month period. Will the Minister examine the case as a priority in view of the special circumstances of the case, which I suggest dictate a speedier response than two years? I hope the Minister will look into the situation.

See this speech in context