Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he will take to expedite an application for citizenship in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath. [9875/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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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 26 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. Information in relation to application from the person referred to in the Deputy's question is not readily to hand. I will write to the Deputy as soon as it is available.