Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children. I wish to raise the urgent need for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to outline his proposals to rectify matters pertaining to persons who have resided in this State for more than five years, who have fulfilled the statutory and administrative requirements for citizenship and who submitted their applications in 2002 but still, after two years, have not had their citizenship applications finalised. It is ironic that today we discussed also the motion on the constitutional referendum on the issue of limiting citizenship.

I acknowledge the courtesy and effectiveness of the civil servants in dealing with representations in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. In an earlier debate I contrasted this as against other Departments.

In 1999 a total of 739 applications for citizenship and 1,242 declarations of post-nuptial citizenship were received. In 1999, 416 applications, approximately 50% were processed and 1,022 certificates of post-nuptial citizenship were issued. In 2003, the corresponding figures were 3,580 applications for citizenship and 2,369 declarations of post-nuptial respectively. Of those, 1,664 applications were processed and 2,227 certificates of post-nuptial citizenship were issued. The statistics bear out the serious increase in the volume of applications. Those particularly affected are medical personnel, for example non- national doctors who have worked under contract in hospitals for many years and are often selected to attend conferences abroad but because they are not Irish citizens they experience a great deal of hassle when travelling and often refuse to attend, thus missing out on very valuable experiences to increase their knowledge. I do not wish to mention specific individuals in case it would prejudice their case. However, I ask that cases that have been highlighted be treated with urgency so that the doctors can build their careers from the experience gained at international conferences. Many expecting a response to their applications in December 2003 are still waiting and I ask the Minister to expedite the process.