Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

The Minister did not address the certificate of naturalisation or citizenship in his response. Will he explain the increase of 2,600 applications between 27 September and 4 October? This is an increase of 520 citizenship applications per day during this period and brings the total to 17,000. What is the reason for this and what steps will be taken to cater for the additional demand? The waiting list to deal with these applications is approximately two and a half years. I agree they must be dealt with in detail but surely it should not take this long.

No clear rules or guidelines are set down by the Department for this application process or for other immigration, residency and visa applications. As a result, many applications are returned or refused because of insufficient documentation. This delay facilitates illegal immigration. What specific steps will the Minister take to deal with it and when will we see immigration legislation?

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