Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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155. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if in the context of application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 24, arising from letter dated 1 October 2014 to the applicant, it is expected to seek clarification from the court as to the reason the judge struck out the cases listed; if this will have negative consequences for the applicant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9777/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that a valid application for a certificate of naturalisation has been received from the person referred to by the Deputy.

The application is being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character and lawful residence. A letter was issued to the person concerned on 1 October 2014 and re-issued on 25 February 2015 requesting information in relation to certain traffic offences that were struck out on appeal. It is expected that the applicant would be in a position to provide the requested information without seeking clarification from the court. Upon receipt of the requested information the case will be processed further and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible.

All applications for a certificate of naturalisation are processed and assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. Each application is considered on its merits based on the entirety of the case presented at that time. I can inform the Deputy that I am concerned to ensure that the threshold of what constitutes good character is, taking all things into account, maintained at an appropriate level and as such is fair to all applicants having regard to their particularcircumstances.

The Deputy may wish to note that 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 established specifically 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.