Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 234: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the current and likely position in regard to determination of citizenship in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20647/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy was received in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) in March 2008 and the Minister decided in his absolute discretion to refuse the application. The person concerned was informed of this in a letter issued on 30th November, 2010. It is open to the person concerned to lodge a new application for a certificate of naturalisation if and when she is in a position to meet the statutory requirements.

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.