Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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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.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising a very important humane issue. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who cannot be present, has asked me to respond to the matter raised by the Deputy.

The average processing time for applications for certificates of naturalisation is 24 months. The lengthy processing time for such applications is primarily due to the significant increase in the volume of applications received in recent years. In the three-year period from 2000 to 2002, a total of 6,009 applications for naturalisation were received. However, in the following three-year period, from 2003 to 2005, the number of applications received increased by over 100% to 12,177. With almost 2,000 applications received in the first four months of 2006, the increase in applications being received shows no sign of slowing.

At the start of 2001, the average processing time for an application for naturalisation was two and a half years. Additional staff were assigned to the citizenship section of the Department and by the beginning of 2002, the average processing time had been reduced to 15 months. However, the processing time started to rise again as officials began to process the 3,574 applications received in 2002.

The Minister has informed the House on a number of occasions that the major reduction in the number of asylum applications has given him an opportunity to refocus resources in areas of service provision for non-nationals. Since November 2004, the number of staff working exclusively on citizenship matters has doubled to 41. This resulted in a stabilising of the processing time at 24 months, notwithstanding the continuing increase in the volume of applications being received. Citizenship is but one of the services provided by the Irish naturalisation and immigration service. Other sections within the broad immigration area, such as those dealing with visas and residency applications, have also been expanded to cope with the additional workload in those areas. While Department officials continue to examine ways to reduce processing times, in view of the significant increase in the volume of applications being received it is unlikely that an early reduction can be achieved in the current processing time of 24 months.

The application for naturalisation of the person referred to by the Deputy was received in the Department on 26 September 2005. Officials in the citizenship section are processing applications which were received in the first quarter of 2004 and it is estimated that approximately 6,300 applications are awaiting processing before the application of the individual in question is reached.

All persons awaiting decisions on their applications require or desire to be Irish citizens for a variety of reasons. Some wish to become part of Irish society because they have settled here and wish to become integrated into our community and way of life. Others may wish to avoid the necessity of having to register with the Garda Síochána or seek visas when travelling outside the State. However, naturalisation is not an entitlement, it is a privilege and an honour granted by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Consequently, the Minister has the responsibility to ensure that all applications are processed in a way which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure that the naturalisation process is not undervalued and is given only to persons who are suitably qualified.

The Minister has informed the House on a number of occasions in response to parliamentary questions that applications for naturalisation are dealt with as far as possible in chronological order and that this policy is only departed from in very exceptional circumstances. The details supplied by the Deputy on the matter raised in the House tonight seem to suggest that the person concerned is inconvenienced by our immigration requirements while travelling abroad. A possible solution to this problem, while she is awaiting a decision on her application, would be to apply to the Department for a multiple re-entry visa, thereby obviating the need to apply for a re-entry visa each time she travels abroad. I understand that she applied for and was granted such multiple re-entry visas in the past.

Having regard to all of the circumstances involved, the Minister does not consider it appropriate to expedite the processing of the application of the person concerned. Based on the current processing time of 24 months the person concerned can expect a decision on her application in or around 2007.