Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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452. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of stages involved in an application for Irish naturalisation. [26607/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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There are three main stages in the processing of an application for a certificate of naturalisation. Upon receipt of an application, an initial examination is carried out to determine if the application is valid. If the application is incomplete then it is returned in its entirety to the applicant. If required information or supporting documentation is missing then the applicant will be given 28 days in which to provide the required information, failing which the application will be rejected.

Valid applications are examined to determine if the applicant meets the statutory residency criteria. Applicants with any shortfall in their residency are informed of this and will be able to reapply when they have the required residency. Those whose applications successfully pass the initial assessment stage are informed that their application has been initially assessed and has proceeded successfully to the second stage of processing.

In the second stage of processing the case is examined in detail and enquiries are made with An Garda Síochána and other Government Departments and external agencies as appropriate in order to determine if the good character condition is satisfied. When all enquiries have been completed and all necessary documentation has been compiled the case is submitted to me for decision. For over 70% of cases, a decision is being made within 6 months, with the remainder taking longer and in a small number of cases considerably longer to process.

The third stage of processing involves notification of my decision to the applicant and, where applicable, the issuing of invitations to citizenship ceremonies, production of certificates of naturalisation and the preparation of ceremony packs. Formal citizenship ceremonies allow candidates for citizenship to make their declaration of fidelity to the Irish nation and loyalty to the State and receive their certificate of naturalisation in a meaningful and dignified manner which befits the importance and solemnity of the occasion.