Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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195. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of eligibility for residency and stamp 4 of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1789/16]

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 the position, as set out in reply to a previous PQ dated 14th July 2015, remains unchanged.

"I have been informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department (INIS) that an application was received, for permission to remain in the State from the person mentioned, on 4 December 2014. An examination of this case indicated that this person arrived in Ireland on 30 September 2007 and was registered as a student until 12 October 2012. On 16 February 2015, the applicant was informed that his case had been considered and INIS did not authorise an extension of their immigration permission.

All non-EEA students resident in the State are subject to the student immigration rules set out under the "new immigration regime for full time non-EEA students" which was published in September 2010 and has been in effect since 1 January 2011. These rules stipulate that non-EEA students may reside in Ireland as students, subject to the provisions of the new regime, for a maximum period of seven years. As this person arrived in the State in 2007, they are now classified as a timed out student.

On 9 April 2015, further documentation was received on behalf of the applicant and this will be assessed on its merits and a decision will issue in due course."

This documentation is currently receiving attention.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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196. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of eligibility for naturalisation of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1790/16]

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 the application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of processing and the case will be submitted to me for decision shortly.

As the Deputy will appreciate, 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.

It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. While most cases are now generally processed within six months, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.

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.