Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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153. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress to date in the determination of an application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied); when the application will be concluded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37220/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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An application for a Certificate of Naturalisation has been received from the person concerned and will be processed with a view to establishing whether the person meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation. Foremost among those conditions is that the person will have accumulated 60 months of reckonable residence in the State.

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. However, 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.  In that context, it is important that an applicant ensures that his or her contact details, including their up to date address, is notified to the Citizenship Division of my Department's Immigration Service.

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