Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 196: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if consideration might be given for the review of application for naturalisation in the case of persons (details supplied) who were deemed to have been four days short of Stamp 4 approved residency which occurred during house-moving, and a further ten days short of qualification which was due to delay in obtaining national passports, both events over which the applications had no control and who were at all times resident within the state and compliant with all regulations [34272/12]

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 on examination of the applications submitted it was determined that the persons in question did not meet the statutory residency requirements as set out in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. The persons concerned were informed of this in letters issued to them on 5 June, 2012.

Applicants for a certificate of naturalisation are required to provide evidence that they were resident for the periods of time set out in the Act and that they had the permission of the Minister to remain in the State for the prescribed period. Periods of residence for which an applicant does not have permission of the Minister are not reckonable for the purpose of satisfying the residency requirements.

Applicants for naturalisation must fill in the prescribed application form and swear in their statutory declaration that the particulars in the application form are true. One section of the application form relates to residency permissions. In that section of the form, the statutory residency requirements are clearly set out and applicants are referred to the online residency checker before the applicants are required to set out their residence permissions in tabular format on the form itself.

It is open to any individual to lodge an application for citizenship if and when they are in a position to meet the statutory requirements as prescribed in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 as amended. The on-line Naturalisation Residency Calculator available on the INIS web-site at www.inis.gov.ie can be used as a guide to whether an individual satisfies the naturalisation residency conditions and, if not, give an indication of how long they should wait before making an application.

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.