Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2013
394. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he has taken to introduce transparency in the citizenship process in the three months since the Supreme Court decision in the Mallack case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13983/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra395. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has introduced any measures in response to the Supreme Court decision in the Mallack case which found a lack of transparency in the citizenship application process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13984/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 394 and 395 together.
At the outset, it is my solemn duty as Minister when deciding whether or not a person is granted naturalisation to consider if s/he is of good character. Moreover, that is a statutory obligation for all applicants. This requirement is established by various checks with An Garda Síochána and other agencies as appropriate and as the circumstances of each application warrant it.
All applications for naturalisation are submitted to me for decision. I make my decision in my absolute discretion based on the entirety of the case presented and taking into account important considerations such as the integrity of the immigration system, the economic and security interests of the State and its international relations. Clearly it is important to ensure to the greatest extent possible that only those persons who respect our laws and have not been involved in criminal activity or other activities unbecoming of an Irish citizen are granted citizenship.
It should be noted that while the Supreme Court in the judgement referred to by the Deputy quashed the Minister's decision to refuse the naturalisation application in that particular case, it went on to say that it is not for the Court to prescribe whether the Minister will give notice of his concerns to the applicant or to disclose information on which they may be based or whether the Minister will continue to refuse to disclose reasons for the refusal but to provide justification for so doing.
The implications of the judgement of the Court have been considered in their entirety in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and revised procedures are being put in place to provide increased clarity for the very few applicants to whom the judgement applies.
To put this into context, since coming into office I have made decisions on 46,000 applications of which 43,000 were approved and 2,800 were deemed ineligible or were rejected because they did not comply with the statutory criteria. Only a very small number of applications that were refused fall within the consideration of the judgement in question.
Finally, it is open to any individual who is not satisfied with a decision to deem their application ineligible or a decision to refuse citizenship to lodge a new application for citizenship at any time in accordance with the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 as amended.
