asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is aware of recent legislative changes in the Argentine permitting prisoners of conscience to apply for a visa to enter a foreign country; and the attitude of the Government towards such applications for visas.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Aliens Visa Applications.
10.
The legislative change to which the Deputy refers is presumably the restoration of the "right of option", that is to say, the right accorded to persons detained under emergency legislation to opt to leave Argentina and go into exile in any country that will accept them. I am aware that this right was suspended by the Argentine authorities in March 1976 and was restored on 27 September 1977 subject to some limitations, by a new Institutional Law (21.650).
Applications by aliens to enter Ireland are judged on a case-by-case basis, and each case is decided on its own merits. Any application from an individual detainee from Argentina would have to be considered in the light not only of the position of the individual concerned, but also of the situation in which he would be likely to find himself on admission into Ireland, and his general prospects of being able to integrate successfully here.
I understand that the term "prisoners of conscience" is used by Amnesty International to refer to persons who are imprisoned because of their political beliefs and who do not advocate violence as a means of bringing about political change. The Deputy will be aware that many persons were arrested in Argentina in 1976 and 1977 and that all of them would not necessarily fall into this category.
Will the Minister state if some of the people known as "prisoners of conscience" who can be shown to have had no participation in or support for violence could expect favourable and sympathetic hearing on an application for a visa to enter this country?
There are some cases under consideration at the moment. In appropriate cases they will get sympathetic consideration.