Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 534: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality, further to Parliamentary Question No. 290 of 5 April 2010, the current backlog in processing applications for naturalisation; when applications currently being processed were originally received by the immigration service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4019/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Currently, just over 10,000 standard cases are awaiting a decision for more than 6 months. This compares to approximately 17,500 cases in early 2011. In addition, there are about 3,500 complex cases in the system for longer periods which require further investigation before a decision can be made on them.

Measures I introduced since coming to office have resulted in a significant increase in the number of cases decided. By late spring/early summer of this year it is anticipated that all standard applications, i.e. non-complex cases accounting for 70% of all applications, will be completed within 6 months. By way of comparison, when I was appointed such cases where taking over 2 years to complete.