Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 352: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will review the case of a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon who seeks naturalisation. [22154/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

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 November 2007. 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.

Officials inform me that the application is at an advanced stage of processing and the file will be submitted to me for a decision in due course. 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.