Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 November 2014
275. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason there has been a delay of over four months in processing the citizenship application in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Galway considering that their application for certification of naturalisation was approved in July 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45044/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, 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 it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process. I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that further evaluation of the citizenship applications, in respect of the persons referred to by the Deputy, is required before the applications can be granted at a citizenship ceremony. The evaluation of the cases is ongoing and will be completed as expeditiously as possible.
The Deputy may wish to note that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been established specifically for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
