Paul Kehoe
Question:357 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when residency will be granted to persons (details supplied) in County Dublin. [10755/04]
View answerTuesday, 6 April 2004
Questions (266)
Written answers
The persons concerned arrived in the State in August 2001 and made an asylum applications. They had a child in March 2002 and withdrew their asylum applications and applied for residency on the basis of parentage of that child.
Following the decision of the Supreme Court in the cases of L and 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 cases to which the Deputy refers.
Since the persons in question do 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 them. If, in the light of representations received and the range of factors set out in section 3(6) of the Immigration Act, 1999, the Minister decides not to make deportation orders they 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.