I refer the Deputy to previous replies to Parliamentary Questions on this matter, and in particular to the following reply to Parliamentary Question No. 521 on 12 January 2011.
I have been informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that the person referred to by the Deputy does not meet the qualifying criteria for Long term residency which would exempt him from work permit requirements. The person in question was informed through his solicitor on 3 November 2010 that he will require a work permit to enable him to work in the State.
I am informed that the permission to remain in the State of the person in question expired on 6 January 2011. It is a legal requirement that he should keep his registration up to date at all times and he should report to his local immigration office to seek renewal of this permission. As the dependent of a spouse who has long term residency, it is open to him to make an application to the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation seeking a spousal work permit for the purposes of entering employment in the state.
I should again remind the Deputy that queries in relation to the status of individual Immigration cases may be made direct to INIS by Email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. The service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek this information through the more administratively expensive Parliamentary Questions process.