Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 551: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the waiting time for applications for citizenship; if different procedures and waiting times applied where an applicant is resident here for a very long period and married to an Irish national; if there is a system for prioritising applications; and his targets for improving the turnaround time in respect of applications. [4694/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The current processing time for applications for certificates of naturalisation is approximately thirty months. All such applications undergo processing in accordance with the relevant legislation. This applies regardless of the length of time the applicant has been resident in the State and regardless of whether s/he is married to an Irish national. I have recently allocated additional resources to the Citizenship Section of my Department so that several categories of applicant can be dealt with more expeditiously than at present. These include refugees, spouses of Irish citizens, and applications made on behalf of minors.

The procedures involved in the processing of applications for certificates of naturalisation have been developed and refined over a number of years and I am satisfied that they are necessary to maintain the integrity of the naturalisation process. Consequently, having regard to the overall resources available, which are kept under constant review, there is a limit to the reduction in the processing time that can be achieved.