Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 May 2021
248. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the progress to date in the determination of the status of an application in the case of a person (details supplied); if a new application is required in view of the recent announcement regarding a draft scheme to regularise undocumented persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28820/21]
View answerThe person referred to by the Deputy was issued a letter refusing them permission to remain in the state on 11 December 2019. In response to a notification pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), written representations have been submitted on behalf of the person concerned.
These representations, together with all other information and documentation on file, will be fully considered, under Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and all other applicable legislation, in advance of a final decision being made. The person referred to should continue to engage with my Department until the conclusion of the Section 3 process.
Proposals for the draft scheme to regularise undocumented migrants are being developed in line with the Programme for Government commitment to bring forward a regularisation scheme within 18 months of the formation of the Government, to create new pathways for long-term undocumented people and their dependents, meeting specified criteria and bearing in mind Ireland's European Union (EU) and Common Travel Area (CTA) commitments.
When the consultation phase with civil society organisations and stakeholders on the proposed approach to the scheme is completed, my Department will work to finalise the details, including the criteria for the scheme, in line with that commitment.
Eligibility for this regularisation scheme will be determined by specific criteria, and is guided by research, including the learning from previous regularisation schemes, such as the 2018 Student Scheme. Those operated by other EU Member States are also being considered in its development.
As outlined in the Justice Plan 2021, we aim to launch the scheme later this year and work is underway in my Department to give effect to this commitment, with a view opening the application process before the end of year.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie), 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 is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
