I should say at the outset that asylum seekers have a right of temporary residence in the State while their applications are being processed and are not considered for deportation unless their applications are refused or they are transferred to another EU State pursuant to the Dublin Convention to have their asylum applications processed there.
Section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended, allows the Minister to make deportation orders in respect of nine categories of person. These include asylum seekers who have failed in their applications or asylum seekers whose applications are being transferred under the Dublin Convention. Separate statistics in relation to the different categories are not maintained by my Department but the vast majority of deportations are in respect of failed asylum seekers.
Irish born children are not deported from the State but usually accompany their parents, who themselves are the subject of deportation orders, back to their countries of origin. The statistics requested are as follows:
Month
|
Year
|
Number of parents of Irish born children deported
|
July
|
2002
|
2
|
February
|
2003
|
2
|
April
|
2003
|
1
|
May
|
2003
|
4
|
July
|
2003
|
4
|
August
|
2003
|
4
|
September
|
2003
|
1
|
October
|
2003
|
1
|
February
|
2004
|
2
|
March
|
2004
|
4
|
The number of deportation orders made together with the number of deportation orders effected by the Garda National Immigration Bureau in 2002, 2003 and to date in 2004 is as follows: