Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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178. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications for naturalisation that are between six months and 1 year, 1 year and 18 months, 18 months and 2 years and over 2 years old; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17257/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that of the applications currently on hands: 4,800 are on hands for less than 6 months; 4,000 for between 6 to 12 months; 2,500 for between 1 year to 18 months; 850 between 18 months to 2 years; and 950 in excess of 2 years.

It should be noted that statistics of the cases on hands will always include a cohort of cases where a decision has been made and the applicant notified of same, but where the applicant has yet to swear their oath of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, as required under the Act, and be granted their certificate of naturalisation at a citizenship ceremony arranged for the purpose. In this context in excess of 3,000 of the cases on hands have already received their decision and my Department is currently issuing invitations to these individuals to attend a citizenship ceremony on 21 May next to make their declaration before a judge and to be granted their certificate of naturalisation.

It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. While most straightforward cases are processed to a decision within six months, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases can take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks may take a considerable period of time. As outlined, while a decision may be made within six months, the certificate cannot be issued until the applicant attends a citizenship ceremony arranged for the purpose of swearing the oath of allegiance before a judge.

Processing timescales can often be impacted due to further documentation being required from the applicant, or payment of the required certificate fee is awaited, or the applicant has not been engaging with the office. In some instances delays can arise at the final stage of the naturalisation process, for example, where additional information comes to light which requires to be considered. In other instances the applicant themselves 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.

INIS devotes a considerable amount of its overall resources to the processing of these cases. It also operates a dedicated phone helpline and email helpdesk available for all applicants interested in the progress of their application, details of which are available on the INIS website at www.inis.gov.ie.