Skip to main content
Normal View

Refugee Status Applications

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 February 2013

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Questions (31)

John Halligan

Question:

31. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will grant refugee status in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5666/13]

View answer

Written answers

The person concerned applied for asylum on 14th August, 2007. In accordance with Section 9 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended), the person concerned was entitled to remain in the State until his application for asylum was decided. His asylum application was refused following the consideration of his case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

The person concerned would then appear to have left the State, on a date unknown, and travelled to the United Kingdom (UK). Given that he had no permission to remain in the UK, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 16(1)(c) of the Dublin II Regulations, a formal request was received from the UK's immigration authorities, on 23rd December, 2010, to 'take back' the person concerned. Ireland agreed to the 'take back' request on the basis that Ireland was the Member State responsible for examining the asylum claim by the person concerned. The person concerned was returned to Ireland on 3rd March, 2011 and was returned to the stage of the asylum/immigration process where he had been before he departed for the UK.

Arising from the refusal of his asylum application, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 30th December, 2010, that the then Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of him. He was given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of consenting to the making of a Deportation Order or of making representations to the then Minister setting out the reasons why a Deportation Order should not be made against him. In addition, he was notified of his entitlement to apply for Subsidiary Protection in accordance with the provisions of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006.

The person concerned submitted an application for Subsidiary Protection. When consideration of this application has been completed, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome. In the event that the application for Subsidiary Protection is refused, the position in the State of the person concerned will then be decided by reference to the provisions of 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. All representations submitted will be considered before a final decision is made. Once a decision has been made, this decision, and the consequences of the decision, will be conveyed in writing to the person concerned.

The Deputy might also wish to note that the person concerned contacted the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service in early April, 2011 indicating that he wished to return voluntarily to his country of origin. In response to that request, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service advised the person concerned of the voluntary return options open to him. Specifically, he was advised to contact the Dublin Office of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and while he did so, there were practical reasons as to why the voluntary return arrangement could not be concluded at that time. The person concerned again contacted the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service on 15th June, 2012 indicating that he wished to return voluntarily to his country of origin, but he later withdrew that request. As a result, his case will now be determined in accordance with the provisions of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 and, if necessary, the provisions of Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), in the order set out above.

The Deputy will appreciate that as the asylum claim of the person concerned has already been determined and refused, there is no basis under which he can now be granted refugee status. However, his ultimate position in the State remains to be determined so he should await the outcome of his application for Subsidiary Protection.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Top
Share