Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 295: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if an application for citizenship is being considered at present for a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; the stage this application is at; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16612/09]

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 May 2008. That Division is currently commencing further processing of applications received in late 2007.

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 reduction in 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 the status of citizenship is not undervalued and is only given to persons who genuinely satisfy the necessary qualifying criteria.

The address that my Department holds on file is different from the current address provided by Deputy. Please note that it is the responsibility of the applicant to keep my Department informed of any change of address in writing.