An immigrant support group has welcomed a Supreme Court decision that overturned, on grounds of lack of transparency, a refusal by the Minister for Justice to grant citizenship to a Syrian national.
An immigrant support group has welcomed a Supreme Court decision that overturned, on grounds of lack of transparency, a refusal by the Minister for Justice to grant citizenship to a Syrian national.
Ghandi Nawaf Mallak was given no reason for the refusal to grant him citizenship.
Last week Mr Justice Nial Fennelly for the five-judge court held that the minister was under a duty to provide Mallak with reasons for his decision to refuse his naturalisation application.
Justice Fennelly said his failure to do so deprived the applicant of any meaningful opportunity either to make a new application or to challenge the decision on substantive grounds.
Welcoming the decision, Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) chief executive Denise Charlton said: “The ICI has a long-held view that while the granting of Irish citizenship should be a matter for the minister, it should be exercised in a fair, open and transparent manner so as to allow people to address any concerns raised.
“We continue to call on the Government to ensure that people whose applications are unsuccessful are given the reasons in writing and a right to appeal to an independent body, as well as the courts.”
She described as “unacceptable” that protections of the Office of the Ombudsman are not extended to people using the citizenship and immigration systems.
“This court decision has again highlighted the need for a modern, efficient and transparent immigration system which is based on justice and fairness.”
In 2011 the Department of Justice processed around 15,000 citizenship applications, with approximately 13,000 approved and 600 refused. In addition, almost 1,200 applications were deemed to be ineligible.
