Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he is in receipt of correspondence from a person (details supplied) in relation to Irish citizenship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25200/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that a valid application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy in June, 2009 and my predecessor decided in his absolute discretion to refuse the application. The person concerned was informed of that decision in a letter issued to his solicitor in July, 2010. A letter dated 4 July, 2011 was received from the applicant appealing the decision not to approve the application. There is no provision under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 as amended for appeal in relation to an application for a certificate of naturalisation.

However, the person concerned may make a new application to INIS at any time. It is not possible nor is it appropriate to give any indication of the likely success or otherwise of an application before processing has been finalised and the case submitted to me for decision.

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.