Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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73. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if correspondence in relation to persons (details supplied) will be responded to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16368/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the records show that the most recent correspondence from the persons referred to by the Deputy were received on 22 December 2017 and 17 December 2017 respectively. Both were acknowledged on 4 January 2018 and the contents of the correspondence is being taken into account in the consideration of the applications. Processing of both applications is still under consideration and have not yet reached a conclusion. The applications will be submitted to me as expeditiously as possible.

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 straightforward cases are now 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.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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 the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.