The person concerned is a Romanian national who was arrested on 6 February 2003 because she had evaded a deportation order made in respect of her in August 2002. That deportation order had been made following her failure to pursue her application for refugee status which she had lodged in September 2001. Following her arrest, information came to hand that she had given birth to a baby girl in Ireland in November 2002. Arising from this new information, I then received a detailed submission in this matter and having fully considered the papers on file, including those relating to the birth of the child, I decided to affirm the deportation order originally made in August 2002. I should add that the legal representative of the person concerned was given a copy of the detailed submission in this case, on which basis I had affirmed the original deportation order. The removal of the person concerned, along with her child born in November 2002, from the State was carried out by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. I am satisfied that the action taken in this case was in accordance with the law, particularly as clarified by the recent decision in the Supreme Court relating to the residency rights of the parents of Irish born children. Procedures to deal with the backlog of cases in this area are still being considered but such consideration does not preclude decisions being taken in respect of individual cases as they arise.
