Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 613: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason an application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied) in County Mayo was refused. [22616/05]

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 in February 2003.

Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides that an applicant for naturalisation must have a period of one year's continuous residence in the State before the date of the application and a total of four year's residence in the State in the eight years preceding that period. For the purposes of calculating this residency, no period may be reckoned in respect of which a non-national either was required to have the permission of the Minister to remain in the State but did not have such permission or had permission to remain for the purpose of study or for the purpose of seeking to be recognised as a refugee within the meaning of the Refugee Act 1996.

The applicant was deemed to be ineligible for naturalisation as she did not have five years' reckonable residence in the State at the date of her application, and as a result did not meet the above mentioned statutory criteria.

Officials in the citizenship section have been in correspondence with the person concerned and I understand the contents of a letter from her are being considered at present and that a reply will issue very shortly.