Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 298: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the status of the application for naturalisation in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Wexford; when this application will be dealt with by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12978/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Applications for certificates of naturalisation on behalf of the persons referred to in the Deputy's Question were received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in December 2005, February 2008 and April 2008, and on each occasion the applications were refused. The reasons for refusal were disclosed to the parent of the persons concerned in letters issued on 11 April, 2006 and 30 October, 2008. However, on reviewing the files my Officials have noticed that it may not have been clear to the parent of one of the persons in question that the letter dated 30 October, 2008 indicated my refusal of both outstanding applications at that time. A new letter has issued clarifying the position.

Further applications for certificates of naturalisation were submitted to the Citizenship Division of my Department in December 2008. Applications on behalf of minors are dealt with by a separate unit in the Citizenship Division of my Department; because they generally require less processing than standard adult applications, it is usually possible to finalise them more quickly. All applications for a certificates of naturalisation on behalf of minors are dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants.