Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 276: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding migrant workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38624/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply below to Parliamentary Question No. 168 of 17 November 2011 and Parliamentary Questions 161 and 174 of 24 November 2011. The position is unchanged since then.

I am aware that there have been proposals of this nature and of course my Department will give due consideration to the issue. However great caution should be exercised before embarking on such a project. A proposal of this nature could give rise to very large, unpredictable and potentially very costly impacts across the full range of public and social services.

At EU level, the Member States, in agreeing the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum at the European Council in October 2008, made specific commitments "to use only case-by-case regularisation, rather than generalised regularisation, under national law, for humanitarian or economic reasons". While the Pact is not legally binding, the political commitment among the Member States, then and now, is clearly against any form of process that would in any way legitimise the status of those unlawfully present without first examining the merits of their individual case.

Any possible implication for the operation of the Common Travel Area would also have to be very carefully considered.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 277: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will review a matter (details supplied) regarding the citizenship application fee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38625/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Last month, I signed into law Statutory Instrument 569/11, which introduced an application fee of €175 for applications for a certificate of naturalisation. The Statutory Instrument also introduced a series of changes to the application forms, in particular to facilitate applicants who are the civil partners of Irish citizens.

Applicants in the main spend up to 5 years in the state before becoming eligible to apply for naturalisation. The INIS web-site and the guidance notes that accompany the application form give explicit guidance on the necessary supporting documentation that must accompany an application for naturalisation. Included on the form itself is a checklist of these documents. Prospective applicants for a certificate of naturalisation should obtain all of the necessary documentation before lodging their application. This ensures that applications can be processed in the most efficient manner without the need to request and await further documentation from applicants.

Managing and dealing with incomplete applications consumes scarce processing resources and the application fee is designed to recoup some of the costs associated with the application process. The application fee is also intended to cover costs associated with the processing of unsuccessful applications that often consume more processing time and resources than successful applications, but which heretofore attracted no fee.

There is a 4 week grace period after receipt of applications to afford the applicant the opportunity to provide any requested documentation. I would stress that the onus is on the applicant to submit the relevant documentation with the application including any documentation required to be obtained from abroad.

The new forms and updated guidance notes are available on the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service website at www.inis.gov.ie.