Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may, in his or her 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 a declaration in the prescribed manner of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State either before a judge of the District Court in open court or in such a manner as the Minister, for special reasons, allows.

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. Applications must be processed in a manner which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure citizenship 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. It should be noted that 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 1,500 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 the 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 have been 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 Tánaiste is satisfied they are necessary to maintain the integrity of the naturalisation process. The Senator will appreciate that these processes can, by their nature, take quite some time to complete.

The person referred to in the Senator's question arrived in the State on 27 July 2001. On 30 July 2001 he applied for asylum. His application was refused by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner on 12 April 2002. On appeal, this decision was set aside by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and the person in question was declared a refugee under section 17 of the Refugee Act 1996, as amended, on 19 February 2003. On 28 October 2004, he made an application for the granting of a certificate of naturalisation. This application was considered under the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 and 1986 and the Minister decided on 8 March 2006 not to grant naturalisation. A copy of the submission prepared by officials in the Department at the time was forwarded to the applicant for his information.

In reaching his decision the Minister exercised the absolute discretion as provided by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts. While the said Acts do not provide for a formal process of appeal of his decision to refuse naturalisation, the Minister is obliged to make the reasons for his decision available to the applicant under the provisions of section 18 of the Freedom of Information Act 1997. The Minister understands the applicant submitted a request under the Act for records held by his Department in this matter and a decision on that request was communicated to him on 15 May 2006. If, following an examination of the copy of his or her case file, an applicant considers the Minister's decision has been based on incorrect or incomplete information, it is open to him or her to seek a review of that decision.

The applicant was also informed that he may re-apply for the grant of a certificate of naturalisation at any time and the Minister understands a second application was lodged in the citizenship section of his Department on 23 March 2006. That section is processing applications made in the latter half of 2004. Applications are dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed fairest to all applicants and the individual in question might therefore expect to receive a decision in his case in the latter half of next year.