Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 527: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an application for naturalisation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and when they will expect a decision on their case. [25384/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the individual referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service in February 2008. The application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.

The person concerned has taken judicial review proceedings and, as the matter is sub judice, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on the specific case.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 528: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an application for naturalisation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and when they will expect a decision on their case. [25385/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the individual referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service in February 2008. The application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.

The person concerned has taken judicial review proceedings and, as the matter is sub judice, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on the specific case.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 529: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the current or expected position in respect of an application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 18; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25434/12]

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 November, 2010.

It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. Considerable resources are deployed to process applications and these resources together with the necessary administrative arrangements are kept under review to ensure that where possible, applications are not subject to undue delay.

As well as being a significant event in the life of its recipient, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation as provided for in law is also a major step for the State. It is therefore imperative that the State has in place appropriate procedures, which in some instances may take a considerable time to complete, to ensure that the statutory requirements are met and that the integrity of the naturalisation process is maintained.

The application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character, lawful residence and intention to continue to reside in the State, and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible. As the processing requirements and time taken to complete necessary checks vary from case to case, it is not possible to provide a specific date for determination of an individual application. I can inform the Deputy that good progress continues to be made in reducing the time taken to process the generality of applications.

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.