Vol. 491 No. 3
407 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the circumstances whereby documentation in relation to the application for asylum by a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow has been misplaced; if he will ensure that the considerable humanitarian grounds for this appeal will allow him to be granted asylum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11803/98]
The person in question applied for refugee status in January 1996. The UNHCR was consulted and advised that the applicant did not appear to fulfil the requirements to merit refugee status. The application was, accordingly, refused in July 1997 and the refusal was upheld by the appeals authority in January 1998.
The applicant was informed of the decision to refuse the appeal and that any further representations should be made to the immigration division of my Department. However, solicitors acting for the applicant made representations to the asylum division and as a result the material was not immediately associated with the person's file. I understand that the documentation in question has now been associated with the file and that the solicitors for the applicant have indicated that they are satisfied no documentation has been misplaced.
The application itself, which is, incidentally, an application for temporary permission to remain rather than an asylum application, is currently under consideration.
