Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 398: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kildare has been refused citizenship and a work permit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11735/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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An application for a certificate of naturalisation by the person referred to by the Deputy was received in the citizenship section of my Department on 27 August, 2002. I considered this application on 22 November 2004 and decided not to grant a certificate of naturalisation in this instance. The basis for the refusal of this application has been set out in detail in the letter dated 3 December 2004 to the applicant's solicitors informing them of my decision.

I have adopted a general policy that applicants for naturalisation, other than refugees, programme refugees or stateless persons, should have been supporting themselves and their families without recourse to State support for a three-year period prior to applying for naturalisation and that, furthermore, they can show as far as is practicable that they have the capacity of supporting themselves into the future. Inquiries by my officials revealed that the person in question had been in receipt of various State supports, including rent allowance, unemployment assistance and one-parent family payment, in the period 1996 to 2004. I was of the view that there were no circumstances disclosed on the case file of the person concerned to lead me to depart from my general policy in such cases and I decided to refuse the application. The issue of work permits is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.