Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 111: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when a decision for citizenship will be decided in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9344/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in March 2006.

Officials in that Section inform me that the application is currently being processed and the file will be submitted to me for a decision in due course. The average processing time from application to decision is now at 23 months but more complicated cases can at times take considerably more than the current average.

I understand that the person concerned is a refugee and in accordance with the Government's obligations under the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees every effort is made to ensure that applications from persons with refugee status are dealt with as quickly as possible.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will expedite an application for naturalisation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9347/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in June 2008.

Applications for certificates of naturalisation are dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants.

Certain categories of applicant receive a faster decision as their cases are less complex and require less processing and assessment. These include refugees, spouses of Irish citizens, and applications made on behalf of minors. In exceptional circumstances, I may expedite a decision on an application. There is nothing contained in the Deputy's Question that warrants taking the application out of chronological order and treating it expeditiously.

The average processing time from application to decision is now at 23 months. More complicated cases can at times take more than the current average while an element of straight forward cases are now being dealt with in less than that time scale. There is a limit to the processing time that can be achieved as applications for naturalisation must be processed in a way which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure that it is not undervalued and is only given to persons who genuinely satisfy the necessary qualifying criteria.