asked the Minister for Justice if he will give details of the actual terms, conditions and procedures whereby a person who is not a citizen of an EC country can apply for and obtain a resident's permit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Residency Permits.
3.
I think it will be helpful if I outline the procedures for (a) entry to the State by a person who is not a citizen of an EC country and (b) the subsequent residence here of such a person. On the occasion of a reply to a parliamentary question I can give only a broad outline but I will indicate the sections of the relevant legislation where greater detail is to be found.
The admission of non-EC citizens to the State, and their subsequent stay here, is governed by the Aliens Act, 1935, and the Aliens Orders, 1946 to 1988.
Non-EC citizens, apart from citizens of certain states which are listed in the Sixth Schedule to the Aliens Order, 1946, as amended, must have a visa for admission to this State and this visa must be obtained prior to coming here.
Non-EC citizens coming to the State from a place outside Great Britain or Northern Ireland must present themselves before an immigration officer for leave to land. The immigration officer may refuse leave to land on a number of grounds which are listed in Article 5 of the Aliens Order, 1946, as amended by the Aliens (Amendment) Order, 1975.
As regards residence here, an alien must register in the registration district in which he resides. Aliens residing in the Garda Dublin metropolitan area must register at the Aliens Registration Office, Harcourt Square, Dublin 2, and those resident elsewhere must register with the registration officer for that district, that is with the superintendent of the Garda Síochána for the district. When registering, the alien is required to supply information under 12 headings, which are set out in the Second Schedule to the Aliens Order, 1946.
The general position in relation to aliens who are not citizens of EC countries, is that they will be given leave to land and permission to reside in the State provided, inter alia, that their travel documentation is in order, that they will be able to support themselves and their dependants without recourse to State financial aid, and that they have work permits if coming here to take up employment, or have sufficient finances if coming to engage in business here.
As regards a residence permit, I should explain that this is a document which may be issued to EC citizens who satisfy the conditions of the European Communities (Aliens) Regulations, 1977. Residence permits are not issued to non-EC citizens.
The Minister will be aware of my interest and that of Deputy Howlin in this matter. I believe that a greater percentage of EC and non-EC citizens anxious to live here reside in my constituency. Will the Minister agree that the outline of information he has put on the record of the House, and its reference to the three sets of regulations, is not as readily available to anybody going to his Department? Has the Minister considered publishing in a succinct and concise form the regulations people need to comply with in order to obtain a residency permit if they are EC nationals or non-EC nationals?
I appreciate the Deputy's interest in this subject and I understand his concern about such people. The House will be aware that the Deputy has a question on this topic on the Order Paper and I intend dealing with the matter in more detail when we reach it. I am sure he will find the answer satisfactory. I understand the point made by the Deputy about the importance of making such information available and I will give his suggestion every consideration with a view to implementing it.
I should like to draw the Minister's attention to the fact that a firm of solicitors — I can supply the necessary details to the Minister — have been attempting to interpret a problem between the 1973 and 1977 regulations which deal with the possible connection between an EC national and a non-EC national. There was a legal dispute as to what the two regulations taken together might mean. Will the Minister agree that we need not just the publication of the necessary information but an adjudication on the regulations by his Department, perhaps with the assistance of the Attorney General, as to the exact requirements and conditions sought? I should like to ask the Minister to instruct the aliens section of his Department, who are not able to interpret this complex set of regulations, of his opinion, subject to legal advice?
I will certainly do that.
Has the Minister, or his Department, given consideration to establishing an independent appeals forum to which those aggrieved by decisions on the interpretation of the regulations can appeal? In regard to the effective implementation of the ground rules, whatever they are, will the Minister comment on the adequacy of staff in the aliens section?
The Deputy has put two separate questions and in doing so is trying to extend the scope of the question before us. The question has already been answered comprehensively.
Deputy McCartan should wait until I deal with Deputy Quinn's question, No. 21, which refers to that point.
We may not reach it today.
The first part of the Deputy's supplementary is a separate matter.
The fact that we may not reach the question does not justify me breaking the rules in respect of what is pertinent to what is in the question.
I do not wish to argue about this. Rules may be laid down but their implementation impacts on whether they are effective or not. It is in relation to that that I sought to put questions to the Minister.
The Deputy should table a separate question. We must move on to Question No. 4.