Vol. 554 No. 5
1370 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to documented instances of persecution against practitioners of Falun Gong by the Chinese Government; if his Department will consider Falun Gong practitioners as a special case with regard to deportation orders in recognition of the dangers they face if deported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16109/02]
The issue of refoulement, as set out in section 5 of the Refugee Act, 1996, is given full consideration in all cases where deportation is considered. This means that a person shall not be expelled from the State or returned in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where, in the opinion of the Minister, the life or freedom of that person would be threatened on account of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Accordingly, the situation of Falun Gong practitioners would be taken into account by me in considering their cases as well as the merits of the case in accordance with the criteria specified in section 3 of the Immigration Act, 1999. Those criteria include, for example, humanitarian considerations and representations made by or on behalf of the person. To date, I am not aware of membership of Falun Gong being an issue in deportations to China as the vast majority of such cases relate to Chinese nationals who are illegal immigrants in the State rather than refused asylum seekers.
