I refer the Deputy to the statements made in the House on my behalf by Deputy John Browne, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, in the Dáil Adjournment debate on Thursday, 8 December 2005, and to the reply I gave to Question No. 385 on Tuesday, 13 December 2005. The position is as outlined therein.
In the context of deciding whether to make a deportation order under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended, the issue of being granted leave to remain is considered irrespective of whether an application or representations are made to the Minister. Statistics are therefore not maintained by my Department that would distinguish cases where representations for leave to remain were made from those cases where no such representations were received.
The relevant legislation which I as Minister must have regard to in deciding every case is section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended, and section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996, prohibition of refoulement. The latter provision specifically prohibits me from returning persons to unsafe situations. The safety of returning a person, or refoulement, as it is referred to, is fully considered in every case when deciding whether to make a deportation order. That means that a person shall not be expelled from the State or returned in any manner whatsoever to a State where, in my opinion, the life or freedom of that person would be threatened on account of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. The legislation requires that this consideration is given before the deportation decision is made. My Department uses extensive country-of-origin information drawn from different independent sources, including the UNHCR, in evaluating the safety of making returns to third countries.
In the time available, it has not been possible to provide detailed statistics regarding Afghani asylum seekers in recent years. That is being complied and will be forwarded to the Deputy in the next few days.