Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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80. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason an application for naturalisation has been returned to a person (details supplied). [39399/16]

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 Section 17 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides that an application for a certificate of naturalisation shall be in the prescribed form and accompanied by the prescribed fee. An application for naturalisation from the person concerned was deemed ineligible as the Statutory Declaration, which forms part of the prescribed application form, was not properly completed.

I am informed by officials of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that, as this was apparently due to an omission by the applicant's legal representative, should the individual wish to submit a new fully completed application, the supporting documentation supplied with her previous application will be associated with the new application.

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.

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 specifically established 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.