Pat Breen
Question:702 Mr. P. Breen asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the residency status of a person (details supplied) in the County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11424/04]
View answerTuesday, 27 April 2004
Questions (643)
Written answers
The person in question arrived in the State in June 2000 and made an application for asylum. This application was unsuccessful. He also applied for residency on the basis of parentage of an Irish child born in September 2001. The mother of the child is an Irish national.
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 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 make a deportation order. In that context, a notification of a proposal to make a deportation order issued to the person in question on 11 March 2004 and he was given an opportunity to make representations regarding it. If, in the light of those representations and the range of factors set out in section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1999, I decide not to make a deportation order he will be given leave to remain on a humanitarian basis. Given the large number of such cases on hand, I am unable to say at this stage when the file will be further examined.