Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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1091. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of citizenship applications granted per annum since 2011; the number of applications pending a decision; the number rejected; the average waiting time per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37854/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The number of applications approved in 2011 was 13,000, with 23,000 approved in 2012 and 24,000 so far this year. Those refused or deemed ineligible amounted to 1800, 1,600 and 700 respectively. There has been an enormous increase in the volume of applications for a certificate of naturalisation in recent years. In 2008 the number of valid applications made was just over 9,000 whereas the total number of valid applications received for 2011, 2012 and to end of August this year were 18,300, 19,900 and 12,500 respectively.

Clearly, the dramatic increase in volume impacted on the capacity of the administrative system to process them and gave rise to a large volume of cases on hand and to a situation where most cases were taking well over two years to complete. When I came into office in March 2011 there was a backlog of about 22,000 cases on hands. I undertook to address this issue and, in this regard, a major effort has and continues to be made in reducing the time taken to process applications.

As the Deputy will appreciate, 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. All applications are processed with a view to establishing whether the applicants meet the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character and lawful residence, and are submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible. In some instances that can be established relatively quickly and in other cases completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time. Over 80% of standard applications are now being decided within 6 months, a remarkable achievement given the 120% increase in application levels since 2008, when processing times were more than 4 times longer. The total number of applications awaiting a decision currently stands at 9,000, which is less than the total number of new applications received over a 6 month period.