Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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156. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on whether it is fair that applicants for naturalisation certificates, who have paid a non-refundable application fee of €175 are asked to pay an acceptance fee of €950 when this fee is not mentioned at any stage in the application form whereas there are 15 references to the non-refundable application fee; his view on whether this is unfair to applicants who are unaware of the acceptance fee, which is only mentioned on the website; if there are plans to amend the application form so that applicants are fully informed of the existence of the acceptance fee; if there are many cases whereby persons are granted the naturalisation certificate but fail to take it up because of the acceptance fee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49729/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The prescribed statutory fees to be paid by applicants on the issue of a certificate of naturalisation were last increased by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Fees) Regulations 2008, which came into effect on 1st August 2008. The standard certification fee is €950 while a reduced fee of €200 applies in the case of an application made on behalf of a minor or in certain circumstances when the application is made by a widow, widower or surviving civil partner of an Irish citizen. In the case of refugees and stateless persons no certification fee is charged.

I am informed that details of the certification fee are included in the Citizenship Fees section on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) as well as in the general information section and I have asked my officials to ensure the application form is amended to include an appropriate reference to the certification fee.

Of approximately 27,000 applicants who have received decisions on their applications up to 1 November, less than 5% have not to date completed the application process by submitting the certification fee while in the same period only 26 applicants have withdrawn their application for a certificate of naturalisation. It should be noted that these decisions not to submit the fee or to withdraw the application will have been taken for a variety of reasons and there is no evidence that this is directly linked to the fee. Moreover, there is no formal time limit as to when an application should be completed. However, for good administrative practices candidates are normally given 6 months from the date of approval to complete the application process. The fees are designed to reflect the effort and cost involved in processing applications for a certificate of naturalisation and compare favourably with those in other jurisdictions. As the Deputy will be aware, I have introduced formal citizenship ceremonies at no extra cost to applicants. The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour 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.