Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 214: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will confirm that all required documentation has been received to facilitate the eligibility of an application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31476/12]

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 March, 2008.

The application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation. If further documentation and/or clarification of any matter related to the application is required, staff in the Citizenship Division will write to the applicant requesting it. Otherwise, he will receive a letter in due course informing him of my decision on his application.

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.

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 which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

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.