Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the recent announcement by the US immigration service that it has reduced the processing time for naturalisation applications to 13 from 15 months by adding staff and making more efficient use of the resources available to it, without making changes to the procedure itself; if he will take similar steps to reduce the waiting period for Irish naturalisation, which currently stands at 30 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15505/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The existing processing time for applications for certificates of naturalisation is approximately thirty months and this is primarily due to the significant increase in the volume of applications received in the last number of years. The Deputy will appreciate that the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is an honour and applications must be processed in a way which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure that it is not undervalued and is given only to persons who satisfy the necessary qualifying criteria.

The procedures involved 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 resources available, which are kept under constant review, there is a limit to the reduction in the processing time that can be achieved. As every country has different policies, procedures and resources for its Government Departments, it is not possible to compare processing times of applications. I have, however, recently allocated additional resources to the Citizenship section of my Department in order to make an impact in processing the backlog in hand and dealing with the ongoing increase in the number of applications being received.