Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 849: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if and when long-term residency and relevant Garda National Immigration Bureau documentation will issue in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15 who arrived here with their parents in 1999 and who has completed their first and second level education here; their eligibility for naturalisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23458/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by officials in the Long Term Residency Section of my Department that applications for long term residency are considered in respect of persons who have resided legally (as per endorsements in passport) for a period of 60 months or longer on the basis of Work Permit, Work Authorisation, or Working Visa conditions. An exemption from Work Permit requirements is considered at the same time. This particular permission to remain does not grant an exemption from employment permit requirements to any of their dependents. Time spent in the State on Student Conditions does not count towards long term residency.

Under Irish immigration legislation, persons from the age of sixteen are currently requested to register or obtain permission to remain. It is noted that the person referred to by the Deputy registered with the Garda Naturalisation and Immigration Bureau (GNIB) on 11 July 2005. It is open to the person in question to submit an application for long term residency when she has completed five years legal residency (60 months stamp 1 endorsement on her passport) in the State, on work permit conditions when at such a time her application will be considered on its own merits.

With regard to the Deputy's query concerning Naturalisation, the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act (1956), as amended, provides that the Minister may, at his absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled. These conditions are that the applicant must:

be of full age, or by way of exception, be a minor born in the State

be of good character

have had a period of one year's continuous residency in the State immediately before the date of application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, have had a total residence in the State amounting to four years

intend in good faith to continue to reside in the State after naturalisation

have made, either before a Judge of the District Court in open court or in such a manner as the Minister for special reasons allows, a declaration in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State.

It is open to the person in question to lodge an application for a certificate of naturalisation if she is in a position to meet the above mentioned statutory requirements.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 850: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if and when long term residency and relevant Garda National Immigration Bureau documentation will issue in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15 who arrived here with their parents in 1999 and who has completed their first and second level education here; their eligibility for naturalisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23459/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by officials in the Long Term Residency Section of my Department that applications for long term residency are considered in respect of persons who have resided legally (as per endorsements in passport) for a period of sixty months or longer on the basis of Work Permit, Work Authorisation, or Working Visa conditions. An exemption from Work Permit requirements is considered at the same time. This particular permission to remain does not grant an exemption from employment permit requirements to any of their dependents. Time spent in the State on Student Conditions does not count towards long term residency.

Under Irish immigration legislation, persons from the age of sixteen are currently requested to register or obtain permission to remain. It is noted that the person referred to by the Deputy registered with the Garda Naturalisation and Immigration Bureau on 5 October 2006. It is open to the person in question to submit an application for long term residency when he has completed five years legal residency (60 months stamp 1 endorsement on his passport) in the State, on work permit conditions when at such a time his application will be considered on its own merits.

With regard to the Deputy's query concerning Naturalisation, Section 15(1) of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act (1956), as amended, provides, inter alia, that an applicant for naturalisation must be of full age. Section 16 of the Act sets out a number of circumstances in which the conditions specified in Section 15 can be waived. These include the following:

where the applicant is a parent or guardian acting on behalf of a minor of Irish descent or Irish associations, or

where the applicant is a naturalised Irish citizen acting on behalf of a minor child of the applicant.

As the person in question is currently a minor, an application for a certificate of naturalisation may be lodged on his behalf if the above mentioned conditions are met.