Written answers
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform
Citizenship Applications
9:00 pm
Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 187: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the status of the naturalisation applications for persons (details supplied); when a decision will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19166/09]
Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Applications for certificates of naturalisation from the persons referred to in the Deputy's Question were received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in March 2009.
The average processing time from application to decision is now at 23 months. The Citizenship Division is currently commencing further processing of applications received in late 2007. 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.
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