Olga Anisimova and her ten year old daughter came to Ireland in February 1996. They were resident in Moldova and belonged to a minority ethnic group — they are Russian as are 13 per cent of the Moldovan population. Since the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Russian speaking people and those of ethnic Russian origin in Moldova have suffered a great deal. Children of Russian origin are excluded from state-run schools. Those of Russian origin have also been subjected to violent attacks, as has Olga Anisimova. They live in great difficulty which this woman experienced, while at the same time she was deserted by her husband who subsequently divorced her.
She came to Ireland in February 1996 seeking asylum. As is the case with a number of asylum seekers she did not arrive here directly. She flew to England and in 24 hours was in Dublin. While her asylum application was dealt with an issue of importance to this State arose — whether asylum applications should be accepted from those who come from another EU member state but who can seek asylum in the original state in which they arrived.
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform took the view that as she entered England before coming to Ireland, that was the country to which an application for asylum should be made. As there are now in excess of 3,000 applicants for refugee status, the Department saw this woman's situation as a test case. As a result there was litigation through the courts and on 28 December 1997, the Supreme Court upheld the case made by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and ruled it was under no obligation to consider the woman's application for asylum. Based on international law the Department was entitled to return her to England where she could apply for asylum.
Legally, the Department is technically correct in the way in which it has dealt with the case, based on the Dublin Convention and its implications. However, the convention is a convenient tool to ensure we do not assume any responsibility for any reasonable number of people from any country in the world seeking refugee status. As a small island with limited direct contacts to countries where there is repression and difficulty, most of those who seek asylum in Ireland inevitably pass through another state. As part of the EU we have a moral obligation to those seeking asylum and a peaceful existence in a different country away from the threats they experienced in their country.
The Department used the case of Olga Anisimova to establish an important legal principle. The Supreme Court decided the State has no obligation to provide her with political asylum. It is at the Minister's discretion to decide on humanitarian grounds as we approach Christmas that this woman and her child who have suffered so much and have now lived in the State for almost two years should be given the right to remain here. Olga Anisimova and her daughter should not be used as guinea pigs to establish a test legal principle. We then pass the buck to England. Nothing will be achieved by forcibly deporting her and her daughter to another country.
The court case brought by the Minister's Department established a legal principle which the Minister may see as protecting the State from people using this jurisdiction for spurious applications for political asylum. This woman's claim is not spurious. We want to deport her on a technical legal issue. Perhaps she will be granted asylum in England in a year or 18 months' time. However, we are talking about a ten year old child and a young woman who has suffered from depression. This State is big enough and humanitarian enough to offer her the home she seeks on humanitarian grounds. Will the Minister do this rather than using her and her daughter to convey the message that this is not a country which welcomes those seeking asylum? I am not saying this is the Minister's motive. This test case did not start while the Minister was in office, and it is not a political issue. However, the past history of the Department of Justice has been one of a lack of insight and sensitivity and, on occasions, a lack of decency in the way it has dealt with people who have suffered oppression and who have come to Ireland seeking help.
As was well illustrated last night on "Prime Time" and Louis Lentin's extraordinary presentation, this country does not have a good record in this area despite what some of us would like to think. We are heading into the Christmas period. I ask the Minister not to deport this woman and her child from what has now become their adopted country, a State they have lived in for two years, to another strange country where this young girl will yet again have to try to establish roots and start all over again fighting the battle for asylum which, in effect, is a battle simply to be allowed to lead a peaceful and safe life.
