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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 5 Nov 2002

Vol. 556 No. 3

Written Answers. - Refugee Status.

John Gormley

Ceist:

628 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the case of persons (details supplied) who were interviewed by immigration officials on 8 October 2002; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the two girls were interviewed for almost two hours alone in a room and that their parents were not allowed to visit them; his view on this practice; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the family face severe difficulties in Kosovo if they are deported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20153/02]

I should summarise the background of the family concerned since their arrival in the State. The person to whom the Deputy refers and her two children, arrived in the State on 6 February, 2000. The mother of the family concerned completed an asylum application on 7 February 2000. Her application was treated as one which also covered her two children. She received an interview and her case was considered by appropriately trained staff of the refugee applications commissioner. The commissioner recommended that her application should be refused on 29 June 2001. She appealed this refusal. She had the benefit of an oral hearing and engaged her own legal representation at that hearing which was conducted by a member of the refugee appeals tribunal, appointed as an independent authority to consider such appeals. The tribunal recommended that her appeal should be rejected on 10 January 2002. All of the refugee determination processes have been fully documented and are on file.

Her asylum application was finally refused on 28 February, 2002. In the notice of this refusal, the person concerned was given three options as required under the Immigration Act, 1999. These were, to make representations in writing as to why she should be allowed to remain in the State, to leave the State before a deportation order was made and to consent to the making of a deportation order. The person concerned made representations under section 3 of the Immigration Act, 1999, which were submitted to me by solicitors acting on her behalf.

I am not a further point of appeal against refusal of refugee status. My specific role is clearly set out in section 3 of the Immigration Act, 1999. I considered all the circumstances in this case with reference to the criteria specified in section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act, 1999, which includes the family and domestic circumstances and humanitarian considerations. I also considered the matter of refoulement in accordance with section 5 of the Refugee Act, 1996. I made deportation orders in respect of each of the family members on 2 July 2002 and am satisfied that this was the correct decision.

The enforcement of deportation orders is a matter for the Garda national immigration bureau. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that for the purpose of giving effect to the orders in this case, three members of the Garda national immigration bureau visited the address at which the family concerned were residing on the morning of 8 October. The mother of the children was not present when the members, all of whom were plain clothes and two of whom were female, called. They established from the other occupants of the house that the children's mother had gone to work. I am informed that the members left the residence having spent an aggregate of less than 50 minutes there. I am also informed that the children were in the exclusive company of the two female members for less than 30 minutes in total. The assertion that the two girls were interviewed for almost two hours alone in a room is incorrect. The assertion that their parent was not allowed to visit them is neither correct nor relevant as she was neither present nor contactable at that time. I am further informed that when the members returned to the residence on the evening of 8 October to make further inquiries in this matter, they were informed that the family had left without leaving a forwarding address.
A very recent development in this matter is that the legal representatives of the family concerned have requested my consent, pursuant to section 17 (7) of the Refugee Act, 1996, to make a further application for a declaration of refugee status on foot of new information available. I will give full consideration to this request.
I wish to assure the Deputy that in the course of originally deciding to make deportation orders in this case, I took account of the overall situation in Kosovo, which has greatly improved for persons returning there.
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