Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 280: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding the application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28199/09]

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 August 2007.

The average processing time from application to decision is now at 23 months. The Citizenship Division has commenced further processing of this application. 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.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the average waiting time to process applications for a certificate of naturalisation; the number of applications awaiting a decision; the number received, approved and rejected in the past 12 months; the steps he is taking to speed up the processing time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28219/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently 17,744 applications for naturalisation with the Citizenship Division of my Department that are awaiting a decision. This is primarily due to the significant increase in the volume of applications received in the last number of years. In 2002 there were 3,500 applications whereas in 2009 10,599 applications have been received up to the end of June, of which 5,023 were valid applications. This upward trend seems set to continue and it is anticipated that applications for naturalisation will increase to over 18,000 in the present year. In the past twelve months 4,734 applications have been approved, 800 applications were refused and 2,167 applications were deemed ineligible.

Substantial increased resources have been made available to this Department from mid 2008 in order to deal with the increasing volumes of applications and provide a better quality service to all applicants. This has resulted in a considerable improvement in processing times over the past year, even though the number of applications for a certificate of naturalisation has continued to see significant growth. The average processing time from application to decision for the generality of valid applications for certificates of naturalisation is now at twenty three months. The Citizenship Division is currently commencing further processing of applications received in early 2008.

The length of time taken to process each application should not be classified as a delay, as the length of time taken for any application to be decided is purely a function of the time taken to carry out necessary checks and the time taken waiting for resources to become available to perform those checks.

Upon receipt, an initial examination of each application is carried out to determine that the application form is completed fully and correctly and that all requested supporting documentation has been submitted. Passports and other documentation are then examined in detail and enquiries with the Garda National Immigration Bureau may also be necessary to determine if the applicant meets the statutory residency criteria as set out in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended. A significant number of applications are initially found to be invalid for a variety of reasons and these are now being dealt with and returned to the applicant within a week.

Further processing takes place at a later stage and involves assessing an applicant's financial status in respect of their ability to support themselves in the State. Enquiries with the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social and Family Affairs may be necessary in this regard. Investigations are also undertaken to determine if the applicant can be considered to be of good character. Depending on the complexity of any given case, these processes can take a lengthy time to complete. Once all enquiries are completed, the file is referred to me for a decision.

I am sure that the Deputy will appreciate that a certificate of naturalisation is an exceptional and important document that facilitates a non-Irish national becoming a citizen of Ireland. Therefore, 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 procedures involved have been developed and refined over a number of years and I am satisfied that they are necessary to maintain the integrity of the naturalisation process.