Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 324: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an application for citizenship in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19768/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's question was received in the Citizenship section of my Department in July 2008. My predecessor considered the application in February, 2011 and decided to defer making a final decision in this case until mid 2012. The person concerned was notified of this position and the reasons for it.

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.