Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 April 2014
485. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a person is signing onto the live register to receive jobseeker's allowance, if this will impact on their application for Irish citizenship in future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17753/14]
View answerAll applications for a certificate of naturalisation are processed and assessed individually under the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. Section 15 of the Act provides that the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled. In particular, these conditions require that an applicant is of good character; has had a period of one year's continuous residency in the State immediately before the date of application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, has had a total residence in the State amounting to four years; that he or she intends in good faith to continue to reside in the State after naturalisation; and has made a declaration in the prescribed manner of fidelity to the Irish nation and loyalty to the State.
Losing employment, of itself, does not affect a persons eligibility for citizenship. In accordance with the legislation I make decisions on naturalisation applications based on all of the information available to me. Each application is assessed on its own merits and the past employment record of an applicant as well as efforts to gain employment would be taken into consideration as part of that assessment.
The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and I know the Deputy will appreciate that it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.
