Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 December 2004
64 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the way in which he is to vindicate the constitutional rights of Irish citizen children of deported non-national parents who are taken out of the country, in terms of rights guaranteed by the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32582/04]
View answerIt should first be stated that an Irish born child, who is a citizen, cannot be deported. The Supreme Court judgment of January 2003 in the L&O case is complex but an important finding was that while an Irish born child has a right to have the care and company of his or her parents, there is no absolute right for this to take place in Ireland; further, the Government may determine to deport a family, notwithstanding the effective removal of the Irish born child, without violating the child's rights. The absence of such automatic rights of residence are a feature of most immigration regimes even those with jus soli rule of citizenship such as the USA.
It is a matter for parents of a child who is not liable to be deported to make a decision about the welfare of that child if they themselves are deported. Ordinarily, parents have a duty as well as a right to provide properly for their children's upbringing and this duty is recognised by the Constitution. If parents acting in good faith leave their children in the care and custody of another appropriate person, the State will not interfere with those arrangements so long as the decision does not amount to a failure in the duty towards their child which would justify State intervention. If, on the other hand, the parents exercise their rights in voluntarily taking their child back with them, the exercise of such parental rights cannot be interpreted as contrary to the international conventions referred to by the Deputy.
