Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 October 2009
292 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding an application for naturalisation by a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34868/09]
Amharc ar fhreagraA valid application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in July 2006.
All valid applications are dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants.The average processing time from application to decision is now at 24 months. More complicated cases can at times take more than the current average, while an element of straight forward cases can be dealt with in less than that timescale. Officials in the Citizenship Division inform me that an explanation for a discrepancy between the information given by the person in question on his Form 8 and the information contained on the birth affidavit submitted was requested from the person concerned on 17 September, 2009 and to date this explanation has not been received. On receipt of the documentation requested further processing of the application will continue.
The length of time taken to process each application should not be classified as a delay, as the length of time taken for any application to be decided is purely a function of the time taken to carry out necessary checks.
There is a limit to the reduction in the processing time that can be achieved as applications for naturalisation must be processed in a way which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure that it is not undervalued and is only given to persons who genuinely satisfy the necessary qualifying criteria.
