Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I speak on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan.

The existing processing time for applications for certificates of naturalisation is approximately 30 months from the date the application is received until such time as the applicant is informed of the Minister's decision. This is primarily due to the significant increase in the volume of applications received in recent years. The number of applications received in 2007 was 8,003, an increase of almost 100% on the number received just three years previously. It appears that this upward trend is set to continue for the foreseeable future. The Minister shares the Deputy's concerns regarding processing times and I understand he has recently allocated additional resources to the citizenship section of his Department so that several categories of applicant can be dealt with more expeditiously than at present. These include refugees, spouses of Irish citizens and applications made on behalf of minors.

The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may, at his absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled. These conditions are that the applicant must be of full age or, by way of exception, be a minor born in the State; be of good character; have had a period of one year's continuous residency in the State immediately before the date of the application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, have had a total residence in the State amounting to four years; intend in good faith to continue to reside in the State after naturalisation; and have made, either before a judge of the District Court in open court or in such a manner as the Minister for special reasons allows, a declaration in the prescribed manner of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State.

In the context of naturalisation, certain periods of residence in the State are excluded. These include periods of residence in respect of which an applicant does not have permission to remain in the State, periods granted for the purposes of study and periods granted for the purposes of seeking recognition as a refugee within the meaning of the Refugee Act 1996.

The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is an honour and applications must be processed in a manner which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure that it is not undervalued and is given only to persons who are suitably qualified. Upon receipt, each application is examined to determine if the statutory application is completed fully. Approximately one third of all applications for naturalisation received are not completed correctly, necessitating the forms and accompanying documentation being returned to the applicant with an explanation of the problem involved. Valid applications are examined to determine if the applicant meets the statutory residency criteria set out in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. Passports and other documentation are examined in detail and inquiries with the Garda National Immigration Bureau may also be necessary. Since this procedure was introduced on 1 April 2005, more than 3,500 applicants who applied since that date have been found to have insufficient residency in the State for the purposes of naturalisation. All such applicants are informed of any shortfall in their residency and will be able to re-apply when they have the required residency.

The next stage of the process involves assessing an applicant's financial status in respect of his or her ability to support himself or herself in the State. Inquiries with the Revenue Commissioners and Department of Social and Family Affairs may be necessary in this regard. At the same time, inquiries are also made with the Garda Síochána to ascertain if the applicant can be deemed to be of good character. There may also be circumstances in individual cases which require a greater level of investigation than other cases. Once all inquiries are completed, the file is referred to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform for a decision.

These procedures have been developed and refined over a number of years and the Minister is satisfied they are necessary to maintain the integrity of the naturalisation process. The Deputy will appreciate that these processes can, by their nature, take some time to complete. Consequently, having regard to the resources available, which are kept under constant review, there is a limit to the reduction in the processing time that can be achieved. The Minister has, however, instructed his officials to undertake a review of the various processes in order that these might be streamlined further where possible.

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