Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 274: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding an application for residency in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41497/09]

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 August 2008. 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 straightforward cases can be dealt with in less than that timescale. However, I understand that the person concerned is a refugee. In accordance with the Government's obligations under the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, every effort is made to ensure that applications from persons with refugee status are dealt with as quickly as possible.

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.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 275: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding an application for residency in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 13; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41498/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that my Department has recently received a request for renewal of residency in respect of the person concerned, which is being considered at present. However, by way of background information, I would point out to the Deputy that the person concerned was recently returned to the State from France following a criminal conviction there. While he was imprisoned, his permission to remain in the State, which was granted in 2006 following his marriage to a recognised refugee, expired on 2 November 2008. I expect that a decision on the future status of the person concerned will be taken in the near future.