Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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112. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding residency status-eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8 who has previously made an unsuccessful application for naturalisation, given that the person has lived in this jurisdiction for 14 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16139/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Officials in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) inform me that there is no record of a current application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's question, who currently has permission to remain in the State until 07 December, 2016. A previous application for a certificate of naturalisation were refused for reasons provided to the person concerned in a letter issued on 26 February 2015.

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 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 I know the Deputy will appreciate that it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

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.