An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in June 2008.
Applications for certificates of naturalisation are dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants.
Certain categories of applicant receive a faster decision as their cases are less complex and require less processing and assessment. These include refugees, spouses of Irish citizens, and applications made on behalf of minors. In exceptional circumstances, I may expedite a decision on an application. There is nothing contained in the Deputy's Question that warrants taking the application out of chronological order and treating it expeditiously.
The average processing time from application to decision is now at 23 months. More complicated cases can at times take more than the current average while an element of straight forward cases are now being dealt with in less than that time scale. There is a limit to the processing time that can be achieved as applications for naturalisation must be processed in a way which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure that it is not undervalued and is only given to persons who genuinely satisfy the necessary qualifying criteria.