Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 June 2014
91. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will examine the process for the issuing of deportation orders in the case of persons who have abided by their visa conditions and left the State having deportation orders issued against them and, thereby, causing difficulty when wishing to re-enter the State. [26758/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the outset, can I say that the matter of issuing a Deportation Order only arises where the person concerned is illegally present in the State including circumstances where they have not abided by their visa conditions or where they are in the State illegally and have left without notifying the relevant authorities. There are a range of circumstances where this latter situation can arise including, for example, where the person’s permission has expired and they subsequently leave the State without notifying the authorities or cannot provide documentary evidence of their departure. The key issue is that the onus is on the person concerned to abide by the immigration laws, notify the authorities of their departure and provide documentary evidence as required. Otherwise, the result is that a Deportation Order may be made in respect of them.
Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) provides for the making of a Deportation Order and also sets out the procedures to be followed where it is proposed to make such an Order against a named person. Where it is proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of a person, that person must be advised in writing to this effect and the reason(s) for the proposal must be stated. The person in question will be advised of their options, which must be exercised within a 15 working day period, and these options are (i) to leave the State voluntarily, (ii) to consent to the making of a Deportation Order or (iii) to submit written representations to the Minister setting out reasons why a Deportation Order should not be made. In the majority of cases, persons faced with these options avail of the option referred to at (iii) above. In such instances, any representations submitted must be considered under a variety of headings set out in Section 3 (6) of the same Act.
In addition, a refoulement consideration must be carried out i.e. an assessment as to the safety of returning that person to their country of origin having regard for the political and human rights conditions prevailing in that country at that point in time. Consideration must also be given to the person’s rights to a private and a family life, as provided for under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and to the rights of any Irish citizen child or children directly associated with the case.
Once all of these matters have been considered, a decision must be made to make a Deportation Order or to grant permission to remain in the State. Once a Deportation Order is made, this will be formally served on the person in question. Against this background, the Deputy will appreciate that a decision to make a Deportation Order is not made until all relevant matters have been fully considered.
Where a Deportation Order is made in respect of a third country national person who has left the State, albeit without first notifying the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of their plans to leave the State, it would be open to such a person to apply for the revocation of the Deportation Order, in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 (11) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). All such applications are considered on their individual merits. In all instances, the information and documentation submitted in support of the application is considered in great detail before a decision is made to revoke or to affirm the Deportation Order. Overall, I am satisfied that the current legislative and administrative arrangements in place for the making of deportation orders provides sufficient safeguards to ensure that such orders are only made in the appropriate circumstances.
