233 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the average length of time it takes to process an application for naturalisation for each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33135/07]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate that the time taken to process applications both now and over the past number of years has always depended on a number of circumstances, including the legislative provisions in place at the time; the complexity of the case in question; the resources available; the numbers of cases on hand; etc.
Consequently, the compilation of data relating to the average processing time for applications for each of the past ten years would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and effort to prepare and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources.
234 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will introduce reforms to fast track applications for naturalisation and long-term residency from applicants who are high-skilled employees or run their own business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33136/07]
View answerApplications for certificates on naturalisation and long term residency are generally dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants.
More generally, it is my intention to review the criteria for eligibility for citizenship through naturalisation and my Department is carrying out some work on this at present. I have no proposals for a faster application process based on the skill level or employment status of the applicant but it can be examined amongst other issues during the review.
