Vol. 534 No. 5
183 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will accept an application for Irish citizenship from a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11190/01]
The person referred to in the Deputy's question has been in the State since 1995. He was granted leave to remain in the State in 1997 and this has been renewed annually since. Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended in 1986, provides that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may, at his absolute discretion, grant a certificate of naturalisation, where statutory provisions are complied with. These provisions require that an applicant is of full age; is of good character; has had a period of one year's continuous residence in the State immediately before the date of the application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, has had a total residence in the State amounting to four years; intends in good faith to continue to reside in the State after naturalisation; and has made, either before a Justice of the District Court in open court or in such a manner as the Minister, for special reasons allows, a declaration in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State.
Based on the information on file about the person referred to, it would appear that he is eligible to apply for a certificate of naturalisation. The fact that an application is accepted should not be taken as an indication that the application will be successful.
It may also be open to the person referred to make a declaration of post nuptial citizenship. Section 8 of the Act provides that a person who is not an Irish citizen may, following three years marriage to an Irish citizen, lodge a declaration accepting Irish citizenship as post-nuptial citizenship, provided that the marriage is subsisting at the date of lodgement of the declaration and the couple are living together as husband and wife and the spouse who is an Irish citizen submits an affidavit to that effect.
184 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the fact that it takes approximately five years to process applications for naturalisation within his Department for families (details supplied) living in this country, as the naturalisation applications of children under 18 years are processed separately from those of their parents; and if he will endeavour to have this policy changed. [11191/01]
Applications for naturalisation from the parents and children referred to in the Deputy's question were received in my Department in December 1997. The departmental files indicate that application forms in respect of the two minor children were returned as they did not meet the statutory requirement that applicants must be of full age. The parents were notified in December 2000 that their applications had been approved and certificates of naturalisation issued to them in February 2001.
In accordance with conditions stipulated in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended in 1986, the Minister may waive the statutory requirements, including the age requirement, where the application is made by a naturalised parent or guardian of a minor child of the applicant. New applications by the naturalised parents were accepted on behalf of the two minor children in March 2001.
