The wife arrived in the State on 13 July 2002. She gave birth six days later, 19 July 2002. She then made an application for asylum on 22 August 2002. The husband arrived in the State in September 2002, accompanied by their then four year old son, and made an asylum application. They subsequently withdrew their asylum applications and applied for residency on the parentage of the Irish child born. 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 process would not apply to cases which were outstanding on that date. There are a many such cases outstanding, including the case to which the Deputy refers.
The persons concerned were informed on 3 June 2004, in accordance with section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 as amended, that it was proposed to make a deportation order in their case. They were given the options of making representations within 15 working days to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform setting out reasons why they should be allowed to remain in the State, to voluntarily leave the State or to consent to the making of a deportation order. Their case will be considered within the terms set out in section 3(6) of the Immigration Act, 1999. I expect the case to come before me for decision shortly.