Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 686: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when a decision will be made on an application for naturalisation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow. [37949/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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A valid 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 April 2009.

All valid applications are dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants.The average processing time from application to decision is now at 24 months. More complicated cases can at times take more than the current average, while an element of straight forward cases can be dealt with in less than that timescale.

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. 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 it is not undervalued and is only given to persons who genuinely satisfy the necessary qualifying criteria.

I am also informed that the address provided by the Deputy does not correspond to the address that my Department holds on file, please note that it is the responsibility of the applicant to keep the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service informed of any change of address promptly and in writing.