Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 May 2006
449 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will confirm that he is considering the option of deporting refused asylum seekers or any other person to a third country other than their country of origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19758/06]
View answer450 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the circumstances under which he will consider deporting a refused asylum-seeker or any other person to a third country other than their country of origin; the criteria which would be used in determining where the individual would be sent, including the suitability of the third country; and the process involved in making and carrying out that determination. [19759/06]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 449 and 450 together.
A Deportation Order issued under Section 3 of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended) is an order to the person concerned to leave the State and remain out of it thereafter. It is not, however, an order directing the person concerned to go to any particular third country.
As the Deputy will appreciate, it would be most unusual for a person who is illegally resident in this State to be removed to a third country/State where he/she has had no past association or other connection. Before we can remove a person illegally in this State to another jurisdiction, the prior agreement of that other State's authorities is required.
The effecting of a Deportation Order is an operational matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau. In the event that a person has to be forced to comply with a Deportation Order, he/she is generally removed to his/her country of origin or to another country, at the election of the person concerned and where that other country is prepared to accept that person onto its territory. It is also possible to remove a person to a country other than the person's country of origin where the authorities of that other country will accept the person concerned on the basis of some past association or other connection, e.g. where his or her spouse resides.
It is, of course, also possible that a person being removed to his/her country of origin may have to transit through another State and, on such occasions, assistance may be provided by that State in the transit area of the airport or seaport. It is not the case that this other State in any way carries out the deportation on this State's behalf, particularly in the circumstances cited in the example given in the question.
The Deputy might also wish to note the existence of the Dublin II Regulations under which an asylum-seeker can be transferred to another EU Member State, to have the asylum claim processed in that other State, in circumstances where the person concerned first claimed asylum in that other State.
The Deputy might wish to note that before making a Deportation Order in any individual case, I must consider that case under all eleven factors specified in Section 3(6) of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended), and also have regard for Section 5 of the Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended) on the Prohibition of Refoulement. This essentially means that the safety of returning a person to their country of origin, or refoulement as it is commonly referred to, is fully considered in every individual case. 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.
The Deputy may be assured that where a Deportation Order is issued in any individual case, this can only happen following a comprehensive examination of all issues relevant to that case, including issues relating to the country of return/country of origin of the person concerned.
