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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 5 Oct 2000

Vol. 523 No. 3

Other Questions - Citizenship Applications.

Alan M. Dukes

Question:

8 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applications pending for Irish citizenship by the spouses of Irish citizens and persons whose residence in this State qualifies them for applying for citizenship; the number of persons in respect of each category whose application is awaiting decision for six months to 12 months, 12 months to two years and in excess of two years; the reason for the delay in processing these applications; the current average waiting time applicable in this regard; and if he regards the current position as satisfactory. [20753/00]

Alan Shatter

Question:

124 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applications pending for Irish citizenship by the spouses of Irish citizens and persons whose residence in this State qualifies them for applying for citizenship; the number of persons in respect of each category whose application is awaiting decision for six months to 12 months, 12 months to two years and in excess of two years; the reason for his Department's delay in processing these applications; the current average waiting time applicable; and his views on whether the current position is satisfactory. [20775/00]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 124 together.

The number of applications for post nuptial citizenship by the spouses of Irish citizens which are pending is as follows: 211 applications are pending for between six and 12 months, 73 applications are pending for between 12 months and two years and 28 applications are pending in excess of two years.

It is not possible without examining each application to determine the number of applicants for naturalisation who satisfy the residence requirements. However, the total number of naturalisation applications which are pending for the per iod requested by the Deputies are as follows: 442 applications are pending for between six and 12 months, 705 applications are pending for between 12 months and two years and 130 applications are pending in excess of two years.

The average length of time taken to finalise an application for naturalisation is currently approximately two and a half years. The average length of time taken to finalise an application by way of post nuptial declaration is approximately 13 months. While I appreciate that these timescales are lengthy, they reflect the high volume of applications received, the various procedures involved and the pressure on resources and the immigration and citizenship division of my Department.

It must also be borne in mind that the delay in some cases is due to the failure of the applicants to reply to requests for further information from my Department. As part of the recent package of measures announced by the Government in relation to increased resources for the immigration and asylum areas, significant additional staffing resources are being allocated to the immigration and citizenship division in my Department with a view, inter alia, to reducing the time involved in processing such applications and improving the service provided. These resources will impact considerably on the current delays.

Will the Minister acknowledge that the waiting times for processing citizenship applications are completely unacceptable? Where persons are properly resident in this State for the statutory period and in employment or running their own business, they should not have to wait two and a half years to acquire citizenship. Will the Minister explain how the comparative department in the United States can process proportionately substantially more citizenship applications in a far speedier timeframe than his Department? Will he acknowledge that just as his Department descended into chaos and was incapable, within a reasonable period, of making determinations on asylum applications in the far simpler area of applications for citizenship even for people who are married to Irish nationals, his Department is not capable of dealing with those applications within a reasonable timeframe?

I would be the first to accept that the timescale for dealing with applications for naturalisation is undesirable and that it needs to be addressed. Significant additional resources are being allocated as part of the recent package of measures concerning increased resources for the immigration and asylum areas and to the immigration and citizen division of my Department with a view to reducing the processing time for all applications and improving the service provided. I accept that the service is inadequate. These resources will result in a staff complement of about 140 as opposed to 55 prior to the Government's decision. Some of these staff are already in place so there will, hopefully, be an immediate improvement. Eleven staff are in place, 20 are being trained and the remainder are being recruited. There will be a significant improvement. This situation has concerned me and I have received complaints from Deputies from all parties and Independent Deputies, and from the public about this matter which I am trying to address.

Will the Minister indicate when the new procedures were or will be in place? When will the total additional staff complement be in place? When the new staff are operational, and in the context of straightforward applications for citizenship where there are no subsequent complications or queries and it is clear that a person has been married to an Irish national for in excess of three years and there is no hint of difficulty, what target time is the Minister putting in place for completing the applications and the grant of citizenship? What is the ultimate target time for processing applications for citizenship from those who have resided within the State for the qualifying period? In the context of the Minister acknowledging that the average two and a half year time span is not appropriate, what time span does he regard as reasonable?

That, as they say, is a very good question. It is difficult for me to be definitive on what the precise timescale will be other than to say that we are recruiting the necessary staff and additional resources are being allocated to this area. There is a difficulty in that the number of applications for naturalisation received so far this year is 760 which exceeds the number received for the whole of 1999, which was 745. The number of post-nuptial citizenship applications received to date this year is 366 which is 80% of the total received for the whole of last year at 415.

It is still a small number – a few hundred.

That may be the case but the Deputy must realise that the Department is dealing with asylum applications at the rate of approximately 1,000 per month. This has created enormous strains on the staff of the Department.

The service should be expanded to meet requirements.

People dealing with asylum and emigration do very sensitive work extremely well. It is a difficult area and we are trying to improve this service. It would be unfair of me and I cannot give Deputy Shatter the precise timescale in terms of how long it is going to take for applications to be processed. However, I agree with him that the present situation is unsatisfactory and there will be improvements in the short-term.

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