Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 189: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding the case of a person (details supplied). [24674/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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A valid application for a certificate of naturalisation on behalf of the person referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in November 2009.

Applications on behalf of minors are dealt with by a separate unit in the Citizenship Division. Because they generally require less processing than standard adult applications, it is usually possible to finalise them more quickly. Officials in the Citizenship Division inform me that further processing of the application is ongoing and the file 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.