Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 261: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding an application for citizenship in respect of persons (details supplied) in Dublin 24; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18361/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Valid applications for certificates of naturalisation on behalf of the persons referred to in the Deputy's Question were received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in October 2009 & March 2010.

Additional resources have been allocated to the Citizenship Division of my Department in order to reduce backlogs and provide a better quality service to all applicants. This has had a positive impact on processing times and has enabled certain categories of applicant to be dealt with more expeditiously. These include refugees, spouses of Irish citizens and minors. Officials in the Citizenship Division of my Department inform me that processing of each application is in the final stages and the files will be submitted to me for a decision in the near future.

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.