The lengthy processing time for applications is primarily due to the significant increase in the volume of applications that were received in the last number of years. The following table shows the number of applications received in the years 2000 to date.
|
Year
|
Applications for naturalisation received
|
|
2000
|
1,004
|
|
2001
|
1,431
|
|
2002
|
3,574
|
|
2003
|
3,580
|
|
2004
|
4,074
|
|
2005
|
4,523
|
|
2006 (to 28/6/06)
|
3,026
|
The above figures illustrate a significant upward trend in the number of applications received during that 7 year period. With over 3,000 applications received to date in 2006, the upward trend looks set to continue and it appears likely that over 6,000 applications will be received this year — a potential increase of 33% on 2005.
At the start of 2001, the average processing time for an application for naturalisation was two and a half years. Additional staff were assigned to the Citizenship Section of the Department and by the beginning of 2002, the average processing time had been reduced to 15 months. However, the processing time started to rise again as my officials began to process the 3,574 applications received in 2002. During 2004 and into early 2005, I doubled the number of staff dealing exclusively with citizenship matters to the current level of 41. This significant increase in staffing levels was achieved in the context of the necessary expansion of other sections of the broad immigration area, such as those dealing with increased workloads in the areas of visas and residency applications. Any further increase in staffing levels in the citizenship area will have to be considered in the context of demands generally in the broader asylum and immigration areas.
The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is an honour and applications must be processed in a way which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure that it is not undervalued and is given only to persons who are suitably qualified. I have set out below a synopsis of the procedures employed to assess an applicant for naturalisation.
Upon receipt, each application is examined to determine if the statutory application is completed fully. It should be noted that approximately one third of all applications for naturalisation received are not completed correctly, necessitating in the forms and accompanying documentation being returned to the applicant with an explanation of the problem involved. Valid applications are examined to determine if the applicant meets the statutory residency criteria set out in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended. Passports and other documentation are examined in detail and enquiries with the Garda National Immigration Bureau may also be necessary. Since this procedure was introduced on 1 April 2005, over 1,500 applicants who applied since that date have been found to have insufficient residency in the State for the purposes of naturalisation. All such applicants are informed of any shortfall in their residency and will be able to reapply when they have the required residency.
The next stage of the process involves assessing an applicant's financial status in respect of their ability to support themselves in the State. Enquiries with the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social and Family Affairs may be necessary in this regard. At the same time enquiries are also made with the Garda Síochána to ascertain if the applicant can be deemed to be of good character. There may also be circumstances in individual cases which require a greater level of investigation than other cases. Once all enquiries are completed, the file is referred to me for a decision. The Deputy will appreciate that these processes can, by their very nature, take quite some time to complete.
The above procedures have been developed and refined over a number of years and I am satisfied that they are necessary in order to maintain the integrity of the naturalisation process. Consequently, there is a limit to the reduction in the processing time that can be achieved, particularly when dealing with such large numbers of applications. My officials continue to examine ways to reduce processing times, but in view of the continuing increase in the volume of applications being received, it seems likely that the processing time will not improve in the foreseeable future.
The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act does not provide for a formal process of appeal of my decision to refuse naturalisation. However, I am obliged to make the reasons for my decision available to the applicant under the provisions of Section 18 of the Freedom of Information Act, 1997. It is also open to the applicant to obtain a copy of his or her case file under the Freedom of Information Act. If, following an examination of the copy of his or her case file, an applicant considers that my decision has been based on incorrect or incomplete information, it is open to him or her to seek a review of that decision.
