The person concerned, accompanied by her infant child, applied for asylum on 31 December 2004. The child was included as part of her mother's asylum application. In accordance with Section 9 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended), the person concerned and her child were entitled to remain in the State until her application for asylum was decided. Her asylum application was refused following consideration of her case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
Arising from the refusal of her 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 5 August 2005, that the Minister proposed to make Deportation Orders in respect of her and her child. She was given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of consenting to the making of Deportation Orders or of making representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why Deportation Orders should not be made in respect of her and her child. Representations were received on behalf of the person concerned at that time.
Following consideration of her case under 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, Deportation Orders were signed in respect of the person concerned and her child on 15 September 2005. Notice of these Orders was served by registered letter dated 21 September 2005 requiring the person concerned and her child to present themselves to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) on a specified date in order to make travel arrangements for their deportation from the State.
By letter dated 3 November 2005, the legal representative of the person concerned made an application under Section 17 (7) of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) for the child of the person concerned to be admitted to the asylum process in her own right. Following consideration of the evidence submitted in support of this application, the application was refused and the legal representative of the person concerned was notified of this refusal decision by letter dated 29 November 2005.
The Deputy might wish to note that the person concerned also made an application for permission to remain in the State in accordance with the revised arrangements applicable to the non-EEA national parents of Irish born children, born in the State before 1 January 2005. The revised arrangements in question, commonly referred to as the IBC/05 Scheme, were announced by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on 15 January 2005 and the closing date for receipt of applications was 31 March 2005. The application of the person concerned was received on 27 June 2005 and, as such, was received too late for consideration. In any event as the child referred to in that application was born after 1 January 2005, he would not have an automatic entitlement to Irish citizenship. The person concerned was made aware of the non-acceptance of her IBC/05 application by letter dated 2 August 2005.
The person concerned, again through her legal representative, subsequently submitted a request under Regulation 4(2) of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 2006) seeking the permission of the Minister to consider an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State in accordance with those Regulations which came into force on 10 October 2006. This request is under consideration at present. When consideration of this request has been completed, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the decision and of the consequences of that decision. The Deputy should note that, in the meantime, the person concerned and her child remain the subject of Deportation Orders and, as such, they must comply with any reporting requirements placed on them by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.