I refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question 155 on 7 April, 2009 in relation to the number of applications received for the last five years. The position remains as stated.
The vast majority of applications for certificates of naturalisation are received from applicants residing in Ireland, because residency is a statutory requirement. However, a very small minority of applications are received from individuals residing abroad.
The following is a breakdown of the nationalities of applicants for naturalisation between 2005 and 2009.
Nationality
|
Total
|
Nationality
|
Total
|
Nationality
|
Total
|
Nationality
|
Total
|
Nationality
|
Total
|
Afghanistan
|
139
|
Chile
|
26
|
India
|
1,663
|
Mongolia
|
14
|
South Africa
|
1,631
|
Albania
|
279
|
China
|
1,027
|
Indonesia
|
34
|
Montenegro
|
3
|
Spain
|
15
|
Algeria
|
374
|
Colombia
|
50
|
Iran
|
204
|
Morocco
|
148
|
Sri Lanka
|
86
|
Andorra
|
2
|
Costa Rica
|
5
|
Iraq
|
359
|
Mozambique
|
8
|
Stateless
|
13
|
Angola
|
368
|
Croatia
|
298
|
Ireland
|
12
|
Myanmar
|
37
|
Sudan
|
546
|
Argentina
|
62
|
Cuba
|
52
|
Israel
|
45
|
Namibia
|
2
|
Swaziland
|
8
|
Armenia
|
35
|
Cyprus
|
2
|
Italy
|
34
|
Nepal
|
73
|
Sweden
|
3
|
Australia
|
325
|
Czech Republic
|
44
|
Ivory Coast
|
99
|
New Zealand
|
173
|
Switzerland
|
32
|
Austria
|
5
|
Denmark
|
1
|
Jamaica
|
38
|
Nicaragua
|
4
|
Syria
|
87
|
Azerbaijan
|
24
|
DR Congo
|
766
|
Japan
|
24
|
Niger
|
16
|
Tajikistan
|
13
|
Bahamas
|
1
|
Ecuador
|
21
|
Jordan
|
103
|
Nigeria
|
4,556
|
Tanzania
|
27
|
Bahrain
|
6
|
Egypt
|
351
|
Kazakhstan
|
107
|
Norway
|
1
|
Thailand
|
202
|
Bangladesh
|
1,127
|
El Salvador
|
5
|
Kenya
|
168
|
Oman
|
2
|
Togo
|
98
|
Barbados
|
1
|
Eritrea
|
45
|
Korea
|
42
|
Pakistan
|
2,055
|
Trinidad and Tobago
|
17
|
Belarus
|
428
|
Estonia
|
39
|
Kosova
|
413
|
Palestine
|
97
|
Tunisia
|
94
|
Belgium
|
4
|
Ethiopia
|
72
|
Kuwait
|
13
|
Panama
|
1
|
Turkey
|
296
|
Belize
|
1
|
Fiji Islands
|
2
|
Kyrgyzstan
|
19
|
Paraguay
|
1
|
Turkmenistan
|
2
|
Benin
|
1
|
Finland
|
5
|
Latvia
|
125
|
Peru
|
23
|
Uganda
|
54
|
Bhutan
|
3
|
France
|
40
|
Lebanon
|
74
|
Philippines
|
2,265
|
Ukraine
|
1,016
|
Bolivia
|
2
|
Gabon
|
1
|
Lesotho
|
8
|
Poland
|
200
|
United Kingdom
|
562
|
Bosnia
|
196
|
Gambia
|
8
|
Liberia
|
56
|
Portugal
|
14
|
United States of America
|
656
|
Botswana
|
7
|
Georgia
|
134
|
Libya
|
180
|
Romania
|
849
|
Uruguay
|
6
|
Brazil
|
212
|
Germany
|
73
|
Lithuania
|
81
|
Russia
|
1,212
|
Uzbekistan
|
54
|
Brunei
|
4
|
Ghana
|
181
|
Macedonia
|
31
|
Rwanda
|
53
|
Venezuela
|
22
|
Bulgaria
|
218
|
Greece
|
11
|
Malawi
|
13
|
Samoa
|
1
|
Vietnam
|
192
|
Burkina Faso
|
1
|
Grenada
|
1
|
Malaysia
|
346
|
Saudi Arabia
|
14
|
Yemen
|
12
|
Burundi
|
25
|
Guatemala
|
3
|
Mali
|
1
|
Senegal
|
18
|
Yugoslavia
|
80
|
Cambodia
|
1
|
Guinea
|
47
|
Malta
|
5
|
Serbia
|
87
|
Zambia
|
20
|
Cameroon
|
248
|
Guyana
|
1
|
Mauritania
|
22
|
Sierra Leone
|
112
|
Zimbabwe
|
632
|
Canada
|
160
|
Netherlands
|
21
|
Mauritius
|
15
|
Singapore
|
18
|
|
|
Cape Verde Islands
|
4
|
Honduras
|
3
|
Mexico
|
35
|
Slovakia
|
35
|
|
|
Chad
|
6
|
Hungary
|
17
|
Moldova
|
618
|
Somalia
|
400
|
|
|