Applications for certificates of naturalisation from the persons referred to in the Deputy's Question were received in the Citizenship Section of my Department in November 2007.
On examination of the applications submitted it was determined that three out of the four applications did not meet the statutory residency requirements as set out in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended. Letters informing the persons in question were issued on 3 April, 2008 and 4 April, 2008.
It is open to the persons concerned to lodge new applications if they are in the position to meet the statutory residency requirements applicable at that time.
The fourth application did meet the statutory residence requirements and is being dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants. Officials in that Section are currently processing applications received in June 2006. The current processing time for certificates of naturalisation is approximately 28 months.