Vol. 524 No. 5
434 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has received an application for a certificate of naturalisation from a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; if he will ensure that this application is considered favourably; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22880/00]
An application for naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy was submitted to my Department in May 2000.
Due to the various procedures involved in processing an application for a certificate of naturalisation in respect of a person of full age, together with the high number of applications being received, the average processing time is approximately two and a half years.
Extra resources are currently being allocated to the immigration and citizenship division of my Department with a view to, inter alia, reducing the time involved in processing naturalisation applications. These resources will impact considerably on present delays.
As soon as full consideration has been given to this application I will advise both the applicant and the Deputy of my decision.
