Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

This is the first time I have had the opportunity to address this House. I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his appointment.

I thank Senator Norris for raising this matter. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who is occupied in the other Chamber.

It is understood that this matter was the subject of the Seanad Adjournment debate on 26 April last and that the Senator was provided with a comprehensive response at the time, including an account of the circumstances surrounding the refusal of the applicant's original application for naturalisation. In reaching a decision to refuse that application, the Minister exercised the absolute discretion as provided by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts. The position remains as stated in the original reply. The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may, in his absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled. Those 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 purpose of study and periods granted for the purpose 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 way that preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure 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. It should be noted that approximately one third of all applications for naturalisation received are not completed correctly, necessitating the return of the forms and accompanying documentation to the applicants with an explanation of the problems 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 be also necessary. Since this procedure was introduced on 1 April 2005, more than 1,500 applicants who applied after 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 reapply when they have the required residency.

The next stage of the process involves assessing the financial status of applicants — their ability to support themselves in the State — and may involve making inquiries with the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social and Family Affairs. Inquiries are also made with the Garda Síochána to ascertain if the applicant can be deemed to be of good character. Circumstances in individual cases may mean such cases require a greater level of investigation than others. When the various inquiries have been completed, the file is referred for a decision to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The Minister is satisfied that these procedures, which have been developed and refined over a number of years, are necessary to maintain the integrity of the naturalisation process. Senator Norris will appreciate that the processes can, by their very nature, take some time to complete.

The person referred to by the Senator arrived in the State on 27 July 2001. He applied for asylum on 30 July of that year, but his application was refused by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner on 12 April 2002. This decision was set aside by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal on appeal, however, and on 19 February 2003 the person was declared a refugee under section 17 of the Refugee Act 1996, as amended. On 24 October 2004, he applied for the granting of a certificate of naturalisation. After the application was considered under the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 and 1986, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform decided on 8 March 2006 not to grant naturalisation. A copy of the submission prepared by officials from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform at the time was forwarded to the applicant for his information. As I said at the outset, in reaching that decision the Minister exercised the absolute discretion made available to him by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts, which do not provide for a formal process of appeal of a decision to refuse naturalisation. However, 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.