Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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78. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department has an option to exercise exceptional discretion on family reunification decisions for non-refugee and naturalised citizen applications; and if so, the number of times in each year since 2011 that this discretion has been exercised. [40333/16]

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 on family reunification for non-refugees, by which I presume the Deputy means persons with permission to reside in the State for example as a worker, is set out in the Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification published by my predecessor on 31 December 2013. The Policy Document, which is available on the INIS website www.inis.gov.ie,provides a comprehensive statement of national immigration policy on the area of family reunification. The policies outlined in the document apply to all decision making in relation to family reunification cases where Ministerial discretion applies, including long stay (join family) visa applications. Statistics are not available on cases whereby discretion was exercised.

With regard to naturalisation applications, the granting of an application for citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. The Act provides that the Minister for Justice and Equality has absolute discretion to grant an application if satisfied that the applicant fulfils the prescribed conditions. These statutory conditions include that the applicant must be of full age; be of good character; have had a period of one year's continuous residency in the State immediately before the date of application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, have had a total residence in the State amounting to four years.

Section 16 of the Act provides that the Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, waive some or all of the statutory conditions in certain circumstances, i.e. where an applicant is of Irish descent or of Irish associations; a refugee within the meaning of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees; or a Stateless person within the meaning of the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Stateless persons. A person is of Irish associations if he or she is related by blood, affinity or adoption to a person who is an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen.

Each application for a certificate of naturalisation is examined on its own merits and the Minister decides, at her discretion, whether to grant or refuse the application based on all the information provided. Records are not maintained in such a way as to provide statistics on the number of instances in which the Minister's discretion, as provided for under the Act, was exercised.