Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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717. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications for naturalisation and citizenship received and processed by his Department in each of the past ten years; the number of applications granted and rejected respectively in each of these years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26727/17]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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718. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications for citizenship currently being processed by his Department; the number of active applications being processed for more than one, two, three and five years plus; the average waiting time for each application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26728/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 717 and 718 together.

I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the retrieval and compilation of the information requested by the Deputy for each of the past ten years would necessitate a disproportionate use of time and resources which could not be justified in circumstances where the priority is to deal with the cases on hand. Information in respect of date of application can, however, be provided for the years 2010 to 2017 to date inclusive and is shown below.

The number of applications for naturalisation received, granted and refused respectively for the years 2010-2017 inclusive is below, it should be noted that decisions in any year may not relate to applications made in the same year :

The number of applications for naturalisation currently being processed, by year of receipt of application for each of the years 2015 - 2017 inclusive and 2014 and earlier is as follows:

Over 85% of applications were made either this year or last year. It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. While most straightforward cases are 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, particularly with regard to establishing whether the statutory conditions for naturalisation as set out in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, such as good character and lawful residence are satisfied.

In many cases delays can arise as further documentation may be required from the applicant and/or payment of the required certificate fee is awaited, or the applicant has not engaged with the office. In some instances delays can arise at the final stage of the naturalisation process, for example where information comes to light which requires further investigation. In other instances the applicant may request that a hold be put on their application, for example where they may have returned to their country of origin for a prolonged period, to facilitate them in making arrangements to return to reside in the State, or where they have difficulty in obtaining satisfactory evidence of their identity or nationality.

Following a review of outstanding cases carried out in October last year, applicants with outstanding applications are being written to informing them that a time limit is being imposed to pay the requisite certificate fee (which consists the bulk of cases) or to supply documentation which was requested. In cases where no valid reason has been advanced for a delay in fee payment or supply of requested documents, or where the applicant has not responded to correspondence over a lengthy period of time, a further submission may be made recommending the refusal of the application and closure of the case. The completion of this process over time will significantly reduce the number of older cases on hand. Requests for an extension of the deadline have been acceded to in some instances taking account of individual exceptional circumstances.

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.