Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 March 2008
507 Deputy Pat Rabbitte asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding the applications for citizenship by persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9123/08]
View answerMy Department has been engaged in extensive correspondence over the last number of years in relation to the question of Irish citizenship for the three individuals concerned and the broader issue of Irish citizenship for Argentinian nationals of Irish descent. The great-grandchildren of people born in Ireland can obtain Irish citizenship by registering in the Foreign Births Register provided either of their parents had at the time of their birth acquired Irish citizenship through registration in the Foreign Births Register. There is one exception to that rule. If one parent had registered in the Foreign Births Register prior to 31 December 1986, their child can register if the parent had not registered at the time of that person's birth. If persons are not entitled to Irish citizenship in these circumstances, they can apply for Irish citizenship through naturalisation. Such applications are considered under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956-2004. The applicant must fulfil certain statutory requirements including requirements in relation to residency. However, I am empowered to dispense with the statutory conditions in whole or in part in certain circumstances — for example, where the applicant is of Irish descent or Irish associations. Every such application is decided upon on its individual circumstances and in accordance with the law. The three people referred to in the Deputy's question lodged applications for naturalisation in 2002. Having considered all of the information available at that time, the three applications were refused. It is, of course, open to the individuals to apply again for naturalisation at any time in the future. Any such applications will be considered in the context of the legislation in force at that time.
508 Deputy Emmet Stagg asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when a decision will be made on the application for a certificate of naturalisation by a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there is a three year waiting list for such decisions; his proposals to reduce or eliminate the waiting list; the details of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9129/08]
View answerAn application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's question was received in the Citizenship section of my Department in August 2007. Officials in that section are processing applications received in mid-2005 and have approximately 14,200 applications on hand to be dealt with before that of the person concerned. These are generally dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants. It is likely, therefore, that further processing of the application will commence in the first half of 2010. I will inform the Deputy and the person in question when I have reached a decision on the matter. I share the Deputy's concerns that the existing processing time of 30 months for applications for certificates of naturalisation is excessive but this is primarily due to the significant increase in the volume of such applications received in the last number of years. 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 it is not undervalued and is given only to persons who satisfy the necessary qualifying criteria. The procedures involved in the processing of applications have been developed and refined over a number of years and I am satisfied that they are necessary to maintain the integrity of the naturalisation process. Consequently, having regard to the resources available, which are kept under constant review, there is a limit to the reduction in the processing time that can be achieved. I have recently allocated additional resources to the Citizenship section of my Department so that several categories of applicant can be dealt with more expeditiously than at present. These include refugees, spouses of Irish citizens and applications made on behalf of minors.
