Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 440: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if and when more favourable consideration will be given in respect of an application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in view of the grounds of previous refusal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34184/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Applications for a certificate of naturalisation from the persons referred to in the Deputy's Question were received in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) in June 2010 and December 2008 respectively.

In relation to the application from the first-named person, my predecessor refused the application and the person concerned was informed of that decision and the reasons for it in a letter issued to her on 18 January, 2011. On examination of the application from the second person referred to in the Deputy's question, it was determined that the person in question did not meet the statutory requirements as set out in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. The person concerned was informed that her application had been deemed ineligible in a letter issued to her on 16 June, 2010.

Section 15 of that Act provides that the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled. The conditions are that the applicant must -

be of full age

be of good character

have had a period of one year's continuous residency in the State immediately before the date of application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, have had a total residence in the State amounting to four years

have, before a judge of the District Court in open court, in a citizenship ceremony or in such manner as the Minister, for special reasons, allows—

(i) made a declaration, in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, and

(ii) undertaken to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.

In the context of naturalisation, certain periods of residence in the State are excluded. These include -

periods of residence in respect of which an applicant does not have permission to remain in the State

periods granted for the purposes of study

periods granted for the purposes of seeking recognition as a refugee within the meaning of the Refugee Act, 1996.

It is open to any individual to lodge an application for citizenship, or make a fresh application, if and when they are in a position to meet the prescribed statutory requirements.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.