F36[15A.— (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15, the Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation to the non-national spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen if satisfied that the applicant—

(a) is of full age,

(b) is of good character,

(c) and that citizen—

(i) are married to each other, have been married to each other for a period of not less than 3 years, and are living together, as attested to by affidavit submitted by the citizen to the Minister in the prescribed form, or

(ii) are civil partners of each other, have been civil partners of each other for a period of not less than 3 years, and are living together, as attested to by affidavit submitted by the citizen to the Minister in the prescribed form,

(d) is, in the case of a spouse, in a marriage recognised under the laws of the State as subsisting,

(e) had, immediately before the date of the application, a period of one year’s continuous residence in the island of Ireland,

(f) had, during the 4 years immediately preceding that period, a total residence in the island of Ireland amounting to 2 years,

(g) intends in good faith to continue to reside in the island of Ireland after naturalisation, and

F37[(h) has, in accordance with subsection (1A) or, as the case may be, subsection (1B), and in the prescribed manner—

(i) made a declaration of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, and

(ii) undertaken to faithfully observe the laws of the State and respect its democratic values.]

F38[(1A) The declaration referred to in paragraph (h) of subsection (1) shall be made, and the undertaking referred to in that paragraph shall be given—

(a) subject to subsection (1B), in a citizenship ceremony, or

(b) in such manner as the Minister, for special reasons, allows.

(1B) The Minister may—

(a) dispense with the requirement under subsection (1A)(a) that the declaration be made and the undertaking be given in a citizenship ceremony, and

(b) allow the applicant to make the declaration and give the undertaking in such manner as the Minister may specify,

where the Minister is of the opinion that, having regard to the number of applications of which he or she is in receipt, it is appropriate to do so in the interests of ensuring that such applications are dealt with in an efficient manner.]

(2) The Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, waive the conditions at paragraph (c), (e), (f) or (g) of subsection (1) or any of them if satisfied that the applicant would suffer serious consequences in respect of his or her bodily integrity or liberty if not granted Irish citizenship.

(3) Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) shall not apply to an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation to whom subsection (4) applies.

(4) Any period of residence outside the island of Ireland, during which—

(a) the applicant for a certificate of naturalisation to which this section applies was—

(i) married to and living with his or her spouse, or

(ii) in a civil partnership with and living with his or her civil partner,

and

(b) the applicant’s spouse or, as the case may be, civil partner was in the public service, shall be reckoned as a period of residence in the island of Ireland for the purposes of calculating—

(i) continuous residence under paragraph (e) of subsection (1), or

(ii) total residence under paragraph (f) of that subsection.]]