Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 123: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if it is possible to waive the €950 fee in respect of an application for citizenship in respect of a person (details supplied). [10849/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Fees) Regulations 2008, which came into effect on 1 August 2008, the prescribed fee to be paid by the applicant on the issue of a certificate of naturalisation is as follows:

(a) where the application is made on behalf of a minor, a fee of €200.00;

(b) where the application is made by a widow or widower whose spouse was, immediately before death, an Irish citizen, and who has not, subsequent to the spouse's death, become a naturalised citizen of a state other than the State, a fee of €200.00;

(c) in the case of all other applications, a fee of €950.00;

(d) the fee payable under (a), (b) or (c) shall be nil, if the application for the certificate concerned is made by or on behalf of a refugee or stateless person or by or on behalf of a programme refugee.

As payment of the appropriate fee is a statutory requirement for the issue of a certificate of naturalisation, it cannot be waived.

Seán Conlan (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 124: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding citizenship in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10864/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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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 December, 2007. The application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible. In that context, as I outlined in response to Parliamentary Question Number 69 of 7 April last, I can inform the Deputy that I have initiated steps within my Department to provide for speedier processing of applications to bring about a substantial reduction in the processing timescale. The new arrangements will be publicly announced once my Department is in a position to implement them.

The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process. I should remind the Deputy that queries in relation to the status of individual Immigration cases may be made direct to INIS by Email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. The service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek this information through the more administratively expensive Parliamentary Questions process.