Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have taken notes on the person's position. I apologise for the absence of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan.

I cannot comment on individual cases. However, I am happy to set out the position generally in respect of the processing of applications for citizenship. The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, sets out the law governing Irish citizenship and distinguishes between the entitlement to Irish citizenship by birth and descent and the acquisition of Irish citizenship through the naturalisation process. Should a non-national apply for Irish citizenship through naturalisation, the applicant must fulfil certain statutory requirements, for example, residency and good character. The Minister has absolute discretion and may dispense with the statutory conditions in whole or in part in certain circumstances.

It should be noted that it is incumbent on any applicant to disclose the fact and circumstances of any ongoing matter that the Minister should be made aware of in the context of a naturalisation application. Moreover, applicants are advised that reports are obtained from An Garda Síochána and other agencies relating to applications for naturalisation, and that any failure to disclose any matter at any stage of the process will adversely affect the application. The guidelines for the application form advise that, should adverse information come to light in the processing of that application, it will be taken into consideration. In the particular section of the application dealing with background, this notification is repeated, stressing that applicants should disclose information even if they do not consider it material to the application.

It is a matter reserved exclusively for the Minister to determine what factors are to be taken into account in assessing whether an applicant for naturalisation is of good character. During the course of the processing of an application, information can come to attention from the various background checks that the applicant could reasonably have foreseen could be taken into consideration in the decision-making process. The Minister is not obliged to give advance notice of this information of which the applicant was already aware.Decisions on naturalisation are taken having considered all of the available information. It is expected that applicants will comply fully with that process. It would not be appropriate to discuss the details of an individual's applications on the floor of this House and the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has asked me to inform Senator Wilson that his officials will speak with him on the matter.