Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2004
905 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when an application for residency based on the parentage of an Irish born child will be dealt with for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [2048/04]
View answerThe person concerned applied for refugee status on 2 October 2000. He was refused asylum on 20 March 2002. He applied for residency on 9 August 2002 on the basis of parentage of an Irish child born in January 2002.
Following the decision of the Supreme Court in the cases of L & O, the separate procedure which then existed to enable persons to apply to reside in the State on the sole basis of parentage of an Irish born child ended on 19 February 2003. The Government decided that the separate procedure would not apply to cases which were outstanding on that date. There are a large number of such cases outstanding at present, including the case to which the Deputy refers.
Since the person in question does not have an alternative legal basis for remaining in this jurisdiction the issue of permission to remain will be considered — but only in the context of a ministerial proposal to deport him. In that context, he will be notified of the proposal and given an opportunity to make representations in relation to it. If, in the light of those representations and the range of factors set out in section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1999, a decision is made not to make a deportation order he will be given leave to remain on a humanitarian basis. Because of the large number of such cases on hand I am unable to say at this stage when the file will be examined.
