Vol. 550 No. 4
625 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a decision on the naturalisation of a person (details supplied) can be expedited; the current status of the application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9159/02]
An application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy was received in my Department on the 29 August 2001. Applications were also received from his wife and two children. In all, a total of 1,427 such applications were received in my Department in 2001, an increase of 42% over the number received in 2000.
Additional staff resources and significant administrative changes were introduced in the citizenship area of my Department during the course of 2001 with the result that the processing time for naturalisation applications, notwithstanding the increased volume of applications being received, has been reduced from two and a half years at the start of 2001 to 15 months by the year's end.
Applications for certificates of naturalisation are generally dealt with in chronological order as this method is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants.
At this stage, I anticipate that the application of the person referred to in the Deputy's question will be finalised towards the end of this year. As soon as I have reached a decision on the matter, both the applicant and the Deputy will be informed of the outcome.
