I refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Question No. 129 of Thursday, 20 November 2008, and the written Reply to that Question. The immigration case histories and up to date positions of the three persons concerned, a husband, wife and child, are almost identical. Accordingly, for the purposes of the Deputy's Question, I will deal with the three cases as one. The persons concerned applied for asylum on 2 July 2007. Their applications were refused following consideration of their cases by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
Subsequently, in accordance with Section 3 of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended), the persons concerned were informed, by letter dated 18 February 2008 in the case of the first named person concerned and by letter dated 15 February 2008 in the cases of the second and third named persons concerned, that the Minister proposed to make Deportation Orders in respect of them. They were given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of consenting to the making of Deportation Orders or of making representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why they should be allowed to remain temporarily in the State. In addition, they were notified of their entitlement to apply for Subsidiary Protection in the State in accordance with the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations, 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 2006).
The persons concerned submitted applications for Subsidiary Protection in the State in accordance with these Regulations and, following consideration of these applications, it was determined that the persons concerned were not eligible for Subsidiary Protection in the State. The persons concerned were notified of these decisions by letters dated 15 October 2008.
The case files of the persons concerned, including all representations submitted, will now be considered under Section 3(6) of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended) and Section 5 of the Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended) on the prohibition of refoulement. When these considerations have been completed, the case files of the persons concerned are passed to me for decision.