Dáil debates
Tuesday, 22 March 2005
Adjournment Debate.
Deportation Orders.
8:00 pm
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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As the first three matters selected for the Adjournment are similar, they will be taken together. Deputies Costello and Burton will share five minutes, Deputy Curran will have five minutes and then Deputies Joe Higgins and Cuffe will share a further five minutes.
Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I am raising an extremely important issue this evening. The deportation of a 19 year old youth to Nigeria raises many other issues, such as the Government's immigration policy, which deserves to be debated in the House at an early opportunity.
We witnessed last week the spectacle of men, women and children, who had been taken by the Garda while engaged in one area of activity in their lives, arriving at the airport to be deported. Those who were deported were in school uniforms or on their way to work, while others had been asked to turn up at the immigration bureau. They were taken to the airport after being given a brief period of time to collect some clothes. Mobile telephones were taken from those being deported in some cases, so that they could not contact friends, relatives or lawyers. A couple of people who were able to contact lawyers were not deported because they secured a review of the circumstances of their deportation.
Last week's deportations took place on the eve of St. Patrick's Day, when the Minister, Deputy McDowell, and some of his colleagues were out of the country commemorating the far-flung diaspora of Irish people who went abroad, legally and illegally, to find a better life and to escape persecution. It is a cruel irony that the deportations took place just as those celebrations were about to begin.
The thrust of my contribution will relate to the cases of unaccompanied minors who have come to this country. Many of them, including the young man in question, are over the age of 18 when they sit the leaving certificate because of their late entry into the education system. Therefore, they come within the terms of reference of the deportation regulations. Many people are eligible for deportation as they prepare to sit the leaving certificate, or even the junior certificate, and are being deported on that basis. I am sure the Minister understands the significant benefits, in terms of their future, of giving such people the opportunity to acquire some qualification from the Irish education system.
None of the humanitarian reasons for deciding not to deport a young person, including that person's friends and other roots in the community, has been taken into consideration. That is contrary to the spirit of the Geneva Convention and the international laws relating to children. If it is still part of this country's ethos to be Christian and humane, the least we should do is to allow young people who have come to Ireland in difficult circumstances to stay here until they have finished their schooling. The Minister should suspend any future deportations of this nature. He should provide for a separate assessment when he considers ordering the deportation of a young person on the grounds I have mentioned. In such an assessment, he should consider the degree to which the person has been integrated into Irish society through the education system.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform chose to act in a particularly cruel and callous manner when they decided to deport a 19 year old leaving certificate student at Pobalscoil Iosolde in Palmerstown. In such circumstances, what is the logic of the State making relatively generous provision to allow unaccompanied minors to study here? What was the point of preparing a young man to sit his leaving certificate, if the State intended to deport him to a city he does not know, where he has no friends, no family and no money? The State's actions removed any prospect of him being able to complete his secondary education. It would be interesting to know whether the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has granted anyone humanitarian leave to stay in this country in recent times, and on what basis he has done so.
I do not doubt that the trafficking of unaccompanied minors is a serious crime and a problem for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. There is strong evidence in this case that the young man in question had integrated extraordinarily well into his community and his school. He was working on a part-time basis and paying for his room. He had earned the esteem and friendship of teachers and students at Pobalscoil Iosolde in Palmerstown. In the circumstances — the young man's father has been reported dead and his mother lives in another country — it seems to me that the decision to deport him to Nigeria was particularly cruel. If the Minister had allowed the person in question to complete his secondary education, which is an important qualification in Africa, he would have been in a much better position to assist himself economically.
Does the Health Service Executive have any concept of its duty of care to this young man? The health service's duty of care in respect of a person under the age of 18 who is in care normally continues for a further number of years. The Minister should re-examine the decision he has taken in this case. He should consider the compelling case for humanitarian leave to stay.
John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Chair for the opportunity to raise on the Adjournment debate the deportation from Palmerstown of a young Nigerian student, Mr. Olunkunle Eluhanla, commonly known to his friends as "Kunle". I thank the Minister, Deputy McDowell, for attending in person tonight. It frequently happens that the relevant Minister does not respond on the Adjournment because he or she has been given short notice. It is interesting to note that many Deputies tried to raise this matter, which has created a great deal of tension in many communities.
I understand that an application for refugee status and a subsequent appeal were not upheld in this case and refugee status was not granted. I heard the Minister speaking about this case during a radio interview this morning. He clearly stated that he would not make an order to allow Olunkunle to return to Ireland, as that would lead to a chaotic situation of Ireland having an open door immigration policy, in effect. The Minister may not have used those exact words, but I have outlined what he said, more or less.
While I do not believe the Irish people want an open door immigration policy, I think they would like the Minister to show some sympathy and compassion in this case. Although Olunkunle's application for refugee status failed, it appears that a number of claims made by him during that process were not disputed. His father and his uncle were murdered in December 1998 and Olunkunle was shot during the incident. Olunkunle and the remaining members of his family moved to Lagos thereafter. The house in which he was living with his family was subsequently destroyed. Olunkunle arrived in Ireland in October 2001, having travelled without his family. I regard him as an orphan because his father is dead and the location of his mother and the rest of his family is unknown. Some media reports have suggested that they might be in the United States or the United Kingdom, but Olunkunle does not know where they are.
Olunkunle has spent about half of his teenage years in Ireland. He has adapted well during that time, for example by integrating with the local community, studying for his leaving certificate and working in a part-time job. He is a popular student and his deportation has touched the lives of everyone here who knows him. I have received numerous phone calls from people from all walks of life wishing to register their disapproval of the manner in which Olunkunle was dealt with. Less than three months away from his leaving certificate, a student was deported at short notice. I understand that today Olunkunle roams somewhere in Lagos and faces a very uncertain future. I ask the Minister to reconsider his earlier-stated position. I ask him to recognise Olunkunle as an orphan. The State and the Department should have observed a duty of care to Olunkunle when deporting him, but he was deported instead without reference to what lay ahead for him in Nigeria. He came here as a young person without any family. While I accept that we require an immigration policy, the manner in which Olunkunle was deported failed to take into account what he would face.
The Minister will speak factually and eloquently when replying, but that will not help Olunkunle's situation. I plead with the Minister to at least allow Olunkunle the opportunity to return to Ireland to complete his leaving certificate and, perhaps, to let him apply for leave to remain here on humanitarian or compassionate grounds. The Minister should bear in mind that Olunkunle was here for three and a half years, made a significant number of friends and integrated extremely well. It is grossly unfair that a person who has been studying for a number of years should be deprived at the last minute of the opportunity to receive a qualification.
The Minister is probably the most knowledgeable person in the House on the law. I am sure a way can be found to allow Olunkunle to return to complete his leaving certificate which does not open any door or cause chaos in our immigration system. I plead with the Minister who has the expertise to do it to find that way. It is the minimum the people who have contacted me in significant numbers want me to ask of him. I thank the Minister for attending to reply on this matter.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I wish to share time with Deputy Joe Higgins.
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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We must consider the facts. Olunkunle Eluhanla arrived in Ireland at the age of 15. His father was shot dead in an attack and his mother may live in America. He has no family left in Nigeria. While a week ago he was preparing for his leaving certificate in Palmerstown, on 15 March he was deported to Nigeria and is now in Lagos with no money or belongings. On his return to Nigeria, he was put in jail but while he was lucky enough to be released, he was subsequently attacked and molested. I want an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the arrest, deportation and subsequent treatment in Nigeria of the young man in question. I want the Minister to bring him back to Ireland which has become his home over the last few years.
The Minister stated on "Morning Ireland" this morning that if he were to make allowances for persons who have lost one parent and are not living with the other, our immigration policy would be a shambles. Can the Minister explain what he means by "shambles" in this case? If, as stated on "Morning Ireland" the Government has such high standards in protecting asylum seekers, why was this young man deported without identity papers while still in his school uniform? What protection is the Minister providing to people like Olunkunle? What assurances was the Government able to give him that he was returning to a safe environment? Why did the Minister give the boy false hope by allowing him to study for a leaving certificate examination which he would never be given the opportunity to sit?
Under a repatriation agreement signed with Nigeria in 2001, Ireland committed itself to safeguarding the human rights and dignity of those returned during the deportation process and when repatriation had taken place. I see no evidence that the commitment is being honoured. I call on the Minister to allow Olunkunle to return to Ireland at least to sit his leaving certificate examination. What is the point in providing people like him with good educational facilities and then denying him the opportunity to sit his exams? The problem with the Government's immigration policy is that it has no room for compassion, humanity and consideration for the people directly affected by it. We want an immigration policy with a human aspect which protects rather than rejects people and is open and transparent in its operations.
While over 4,000 people have been recognised as refugees in Ireland over the last three years, the numbers given leave to remain are extremely low. Only 75 former asylum seekers were successful at this stage last year while the number of deported people was eight times greater. The bar has been set very high and the basis for refusing some especially strong cases is questionable. The total number of aged-out asylum seekers who have applied for leave to remain on humanitarian grounds but not on the basis of being an Irish-born child is relatively small, perhaps 500.
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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There are two and a half minutes remaining for Deputy Joe Higgins.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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In the 1990s, 48,000 US visas were granted under the Morrison scheme and the Taoiseach was busy in Washington last week attempting to regularise the positions of thousands more Irish emigrants. A double standard appears to operate.
I call on the Minister to allow the young man in question and others like him to return to Ireland to sit their leaving certificate examination. Among them is Portia Osadiede, a 19 year old who lived in Dún Laoghaire.
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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There is just one minute left for Deputy Joe Higgins.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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In a bitter twist of fate, Olunkunle Eluhanla had paid the fee to sit the leaving certificate. I appeal to the Minister to bring him home.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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I first heard the name Olunkunle Eluhanla on Monday, 15 March when I saw descending on Leinster House 60 leaving certificate students from Palmerstown community school who were upset, worried and angry that their friend had been snatched from their company without even having time to say goodbye. He was dumped, a term I use advisedly, in Lagos without identity papers, money, family, a place to go or someone on whom to fall back. These circumstances in themselves constitute callous negligence by the State. Lagos is an extremely precarious place for working class and poor people generally and especially for a completely lost young man in the uniform of his school. We are fortunate today that we are not here to mourn Olunkunle as he was assaulted in an attack which could have been even worse.
It beggars belief that a leaving certificate student two months away from his final exams should be deported. I salute the students of Palmerstown community school for their solidarity and loyalty to their friend. They have come in large numbers with their teachers to the Public Gallery hoping the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will exercise compassion. They stand tall in contrast to comments in some media outlets that Irish youth is generally self-centred, cynical and callous. If the Minister will not listen to compassion, though I hope he will, he should at least listen to the voices of people in the community who ask him to set aside the general policy and exercise the discretion he absolutely has to allow the young man in question to return.
Supporters of Olunkunle are examining whether there are legal grounds to challenge his deportation. While they may go to the High Court, people power must be brought to bear on the Government to ensure he is allowed to continue his studies. The Minister must see the howling irony of this callous deportation in the context the Taoiseach's request to the President of the United States of America to allow thousands of undocumented Irish people to continue their American lives legally. I ask the Minister to end the agony of Olunkunle Eluhanla and the distress of his friends. I ask the Minister to allow Olunkunle to return to his studies and the bosom of the community which obviously loved him and took him to its heart.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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It is important that I preface my remarks by pointing out that it has been the policy of successive Ministers for Justice, Equality and Law Reform not to reveal the personal details of the cases of individual applicants for asylum whose applications are received and treated in confidence. Having said that, I do not wish to shirk the issues Members have raised.
Underlying this case are two fundamental principles. First, the cases of asylum seekers who apply for our protection must be fairly and independently examined. Second, a deportation process must be central to the proper running of any immigration and asylum system. The definition of "refugee" is well known and set out in section 2 of the 1996 Act. In the case of each asylum seeker, the task is to determine whether he or she is deemed to meet the terms of the definition on the basis of all of the information gleaned. I emphasise that all of the information is considered.
Under the Refugee Act 1996, two independent statutory offices were established to consider applications and appeals in respect of refugee status and to make recommendations to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on whether such status should be granted. These offices are the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Every asylum applicant is guaranteed an investigation and determination of his or her claim at first instance by the Refugee Applications Commissioner. Every asylum applicant is guaranteed a right of appeal to a statutorily independent and separate body, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Every asylum applicant is also guaranteed access to legal assistance provided by the Refugee Legal Service.
Under the provisions of section 17(1) of the Refugee Act 1996, the final decision in respect of an asylum application is a matter for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform based on the recommendation of the commissioner or the decision of the tribunal. However, under the legislative scheme of things I am obliged, save in exceptional circumstances, to accept a recommendation that a person should be given refugee status. Such a decision is made by the Minister as soon as possible following receipt of the relevant papers from the commissioner or the tribunal, as appropriate.
There has been a notable pattern of unaccompanied minors, that is, people under the age of 18, arriving in Ireland claiming refugee status. In the case of Nigerians, of which there were in the region of 105 unaccompanied minor asylum seekers for the past two years, since there are no direct passenger services between Ireland and Nigeria, these unaccompanied minors must have put in place elaborate travel arrangements involving transit through other safe countries in the European Union. Comprehensive safeguards are provided in the Refugee Act and in relevant procedures in ORAC and RAT for dealing with asylum claims for unaccompanied minors. These include the minor being placed in the care of a health board on arrival in the State pending a decision being made on the making of an asylum application; dealing with such applications as a matter of priority by the Refugee Applications Commissioner; that the processing of cases is in line with child specific procedures having regard in particular to UNHCR guidelines on best practice for dealing with unaccompanied minors; that unaccompanied minors are only interviewed in the presence of a health board representative; and to ensure that the special needs of minors and particularly unaccompanied minors are properly taken into account. A group of experienced ORAC interviewers has received additional specialised training to assist them in working on cases involving unaccompanied minors. This training includes the input of child care experts with a focus on issues such as psychological needs, child specific aspects of the refugee process, the role of the social worker and other issues particular to refugee determination for unaccompanied minors.
In this case, Deputy Cuffe stated that the person in question came here at the age of 15, but that is factually incorrect. In February 2002 the person referred to by the Deputies arrived in Ireland seeking asylum. The date of birth given in the asylum application indicated that he was 17 years of age. On the basis of that date he was by no stretch of the imagination what newspapers have described as a schoolboy but was 20 years of age when he was deported. Moreover, he verbally indicated to the escorting Garda team that he was 21 years of age.
I am constrained by law from making public the exact details of the asylum claim and will not deal here with the credibility or strength of the person's original claim. The important point to note is that his claim was assessed by the two independent bodies that came to the same conclusion, that he was not entitled to refugee protection.
In October 2003 the person concerned was informed that he was found not be a refugee and was informed of the three options then open to him, first, to leave the State before his case was considered for deportation, to consent to the making of a deportation order in respect of him or to make written representations, within 15 working days, to me as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform setting out reasons he should not be deported, that is, why he should be allowed to remain temporarily in the State.
Representations were made by this person, which included the fact that he was a student. The case was examined under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 and section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996, prohibition of refoulement, including consideration of all representations received on his behalf and a deportation order was signed for him on 21 January 2005.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister did not examine the file.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The deportation order was sent to the person at his home address and the accompanying letter instructed him to report to the offices of the Garda national immigration bureau on 3 March 2005.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister did not examine the file at any stage.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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This letter was copied to his solicitors. He did not do as requested and was classified as an evader. On 14 March 2005, coincidentally on the day a charter operation to Nigeria was taking place, he arrived at Burgh Quay accompanied by a friend who described himself as his uncle. The person was advised by the Garda to seek immediate legal advice. He was detained and placed in Cloverhill Prison. I wish to make it clear that the Garda offered to escort him to his home to collect his belongings, which he declined. Furthermore, the Garda informed me that he was not wearing clothes which could be described as a school uniform. He was removed on the charter flight to Nigeria, leaving Dublin at 11.40 p.m. that night.
I have seen claims that the person in question was successively mugged and assaulted in Nigeria on his return. It is important to note that the charter flight was preceded by a senior Garda advance party, consisting of a detective inspector and detective sergeant, which situated itself in Lagos a day prior to the charter and remained there for 12 hours after the charter returned. On the flight all adults, including the person who is the subject of this debate, were handed a letter by a member of the Garda team informing each of them, among other things, of the presence of the two officers in the advance party in Lagos and that, upon disembarkation, they could contact them through the Nigerian immigration authorities for necessary assistance.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The Minister is living in a dream world.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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He was taken to jail.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The person concerned did not seek such assistance.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister never examined the file.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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In regard to the substance of this case, Deputy Costello urged that we would not deport——
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister never examined the file.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The Minister is living in a dream world.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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——the school-going children of non-national parents who are facing deportation while they remain in full-time education, and not to deport the young people who come to Ireland as unaccompanied minors while they also remain in full-time education.
I ask Deputies to consider what would be the consequences of such a policy. In effect, no person in any form of education and, by implication, none of their family members could ever be deported from the State.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Furthermore, Ireland would send out a message to the world that it is assuming an obligation to provide education to those who have been found not to be in need of international protection and have otherwise no right to be in the State.
A further implication of allowing this person to stay is that, as a matter of policy, a person who has lost one parent and who is not living with the other parent——
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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——should be allowed to stay and be educated here. Again, this is not a rational proposition and such a policy would lead to a chaotic immigration system.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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It is chaotic as it is now.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The suggestion that has come from some sources that I should not deport a person because he or she is a good student, implying that students who are less academically gifted can be deported, is indefensible.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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No one said that. That is an outrageous distortion of the facts.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The same applies to athletic prowess and participation in church activities.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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It has nothing to do with that.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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What does that have to do with this case?
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I cannot discriminate against those who are less gifted or on grounds of religious activity.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister abdicated his responsibilities.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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All failed asylum seekers and persons illegally in the State are first given the opportunity of going home voluntarily, funded in many cases by the taxpayer. If this is not availed of and a deportation order results, it is carried out with due advance notice to the deportee, which was the case on this occasion.
Since I became Minister I have observed some groups in this country who place themselves on a high moral ground, running to the media with gross exaggerations or misinformation regarding the treatment of individual asylum seekers, including the deportation process.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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It is called compassion.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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When the true facts emerge exposing the untruths we are deafened by the silence of these same groups. In particular, a group calling itself Residents Against Racism organised an extensive campaign in respect of a person who claimed she was facing a sentence of death in a Muslim Sharia court in Nigeria. Its campaign involved demonstrations attended by Members of this House and considerable media coverage. It subsequently transpired that the claims on foot of which that extensive campaign was mounted had no shred of truth — Deputy Costello should remember that.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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That has nothing to do with this case.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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People are condemned to death by these courts all the time.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Despite uninformed criticism of the Irish asylum determination system by a small but vocal minority of groups in our country, our asylum determination system compares with the best in the world in terms of fairness, decision making, determination structures and support services.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister should tell that to the communities in Palmerstown.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I believe that the vast majority of people in Ireland recognise this and have faith in our asylum system.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Bruce Morrison did not think that.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Since April 2000, more than 36,000 applicants have been accommodated directly by the State under direct provision arrangements.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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What about the Minister's colleagues——
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Nearly 700 staff have been recruited across the asylum system, representing the biggest influx of staff in any area of the public service in decades. The Government has established three offices to deal with the asylum issue. As regards the immigration of non-EU nationals into Ireland, the Government has two basic options. We can operate an open door policy where anyone can come to Ireland without restriction, or we can legislate for procedures to control who can or cannot reside in our country. Since the foundation of the State, successive Irish Governments have chosen to do the latter, and this is in line with international practice in every other country in the world.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister can exercise his discretion and let him back to do his leaving certificate.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I will say this if the Deputies will listen to me for a moment. In recent months I have put in place a scheme for parents of Irish born children, which is being availed of by about 10,000 to 20,000 applicants. I do not need a lecture from any of the Deputies opposite about fairness in our system. That is something I was not legally obliged to do, but felt morally compelled to do and it was well received. I do not pretend for one second that our standard of living, whether in education, health or otherwise, is not superior to many of the countries to which we return deportees. On a simple human level it is a difficult decision to send somebody home because one is extinguishing a dream, which was to go to Ireland to better himself or herself. It is not an easy decision to make, but it is one that I have to make in the best interests of immigrants and indigenous people together.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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What about honouring the agreement that the Government signed in 2001?
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I do not know what the Deputy is talking about.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The repatriation agreement.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Is the Deputy referring to Nigeria?
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The Minister should be allowed to make his statement.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Was 12 hours too much time to allow——
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I urge the Deputy to consider in a week's time when all the facts tumble out on this whether he will not be seriously embarrassed by some of the rhetoric he is employing.
Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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If the Minister has some facts, let us hear them.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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There are some people in politics who appear to believe they can dress up as racist everything they oppose in this area.
Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Is the Minister allowed to give the Members a lecture?
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy does not have to shout me down. I did not interrupt any of the Deputies.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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We did not use the word "racist".
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The time for this question has elapsed.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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It should be clearly understood that the one thing that would play into the hands of racists in Ireland is an immigration law that was seen not to work or to have been circumvented and abused——
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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A fair law is the way to ensure that there are good relations between the immigration population here and the Irish.
Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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They are asking the Minister to let him back. They are the community that——
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy's theatricals will not work with me. The Deputy is being disorderly and he is interrupting.
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The time has expired.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister's predecessors, 40 years ago, condemned people to orphanages in this country.
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The Minister, to conclude. Order, please.
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The Minister is in possession.
Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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One youngster was about to do his leaving certificate.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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A young man, aged 21, was returned to Nigeria after due process was made available to him. The young gentleman was accorded and afforded by the Irish State every reasonable facility while he was here.
Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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The Minister cut him off.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Deputy Curran, at least, had the courtesy to note that I was coming to the House in a personal capacity, to address the views of a number of Deputies. I find it sorely disappointing to be shouted down and barracked by a group of people who should not and could not be put in charge of this area of Irish administration.
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I call on Deputy Crawford.
Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this issue. However, I hesitate to even discuss it in the present atmosphere. I refer to the shock deportation from Castleblayney on Tuesday night last of Mrs. Nkechi Okolie and her three children, aged six, ten and 16, which has evoked strong feelings not only in the town, where they lived for up to five years, but throughout the entire community. The community where they lived and went to school is heart-broken and bitter over the fact that this family was allowed to integrate in the schools and churches for a number of years. The mother was not allowed to work and provide for her family, but she managed to work as a volunteer at Dóchas Monaghan, at the Camphill community centre and the First Castleblayney Presbyterian Church holiday club. In the words of the Reverend Nancy Cubitt, minister at the First Castleblayney Presbyterian Church, the church was very sad to lose one of its most committed and popular families. Absolutely everyone at the church signed a petition asking for the family to be returned to Castleblayney.
The members of this family won the hearts of everyone who had the privilege to meet them, whether at church, school or community level. Ike, the 16 year old son, attended Castleblayney College and according to the principal, Mr. Gerry Hand, he was an exceptional all-round student with his exemplary attendance and punctuality. His junior certificate results last September were exceptional. He achieved the title of student of the month at the school on more than one occasion. The principal said: "I cannot praise his general application to school, curriculum and extra-curricular activities highly enough." Yet Ike was deported without the opportunity to speak to his friends and while the local Garda treated the family generously, the inhumane manner of the deportation was despicable.
The head of Dóchas Monaghan spoke on local radio about the great voluntary work Mrs. Okolie was doing with the Dóchas group in Monaghan and also spoke on behalf of Camphill. I have a number of letters in my possession which are very sincere and generous in their support for the family. The main issue for most is that these people were allowed to stay here, integrate into society and be part of the community. As Reverend Nancy Cubitt said, these people were an asset to the country and are sorely missed in the church. They were already making a large contribution to the community and it would have been greater, had they been allowed to work. We want to see them back. There are many more suitable cases for deportation than these.
I am old enough and so is the Minister to be able to recall the times when my brother and many others had to leave this country. They went to England and North America. I have been in Canada on many occasions, in places where the Irish there have never returned to Ireland, although their roots are still here. Their families went out there during the Famine era or even 100 years before that. These people were allowed to take up employment. As regards immigrants who are in Ireland for a number of years, is there not some justification for an amnesty? We allow many other people into this country to work. We are actually looking for such people to work. I know of a number of immigrants at St. Patrick's College, Monaghan, who are sorely aggrieved at their situation. They do not want to be a liability and want to work. I realise there must be immigration laws but matters have tightened up considerably. Not nearly as many immigrants are coming in, for all sorts of reasons. However, at least those who have been here for a number of years and have integrated into society should be allowed, for God's sake, to remain so that the type of havoc this family has experienced is not replicated.
I have never seen this community so united. These people are not strays or weirdos, they are the genuine, ordinary people of Castleblayney. In the words of the Reverend Nancy Cubitt, absolutely everyone signed the petition. Not one person was against this dark coloured family being there. They had come to know and love them and wanted them to stay. This is a small Presbyterian Church — I am a member of the broader church in the county — and the moderator of the church in County Monaghan has sent a letter to the Minister asking him to reconsider the situation. We do not want an open door policy for crackpots, we want realism and an understanding of what our sons and daughters went through in the years gone by and to treat these people with Christian generosity.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I thank Deputy Crawford for raising the issue of this family. I have no doubt that what he says is correct, that the mother and children are decent people who were close to the hearts of the community in which they stayed while here.
I want, however, to put a few facts on record. The person referred to by the Deputy and her three children arrived in Ireland on 28 November 2001 and claimed asylum. I have indicated in the course of the last exchange the procedures that were gone through. The Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner considers each case in great detail. If applicants win the right to be considered refugees at that stage, that is the end of the matter. If they lose, they have the right to appeal to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. If they win at that stage, they are given refugee status and I am not in a position to refuse them. Even at that stage, if applicants are not successful, they are given the opportunity to do one of three things, leave the State voluntarily, consent to being the subject of a deportation order, in which case the State will deport them, or apply to me for humanitarian leave to remain. Those are the three options this family was given.
An application for leave to remain in the State was received by my Department on 21 January 2003. The case was examined under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 and section 5 — prohibition of refoulement— of the Refugee Act 1996. It was examined at considerable length and the deportation orders were signed in respect of all four family members on 11 February 2005. The family complied with the relevant reporting requirements and were removed on a charter flight to Lagos on the night of 14-15 March 2005.
The situation for families in these circumstances is that when they come to Ireland from Nigeria, they inevitably pass through other EU member states. It costs a lot to move a family from Nigeria to Ireland so much hope is put into the enterprise that they would be allowed to stay in Ireland. When they come here, however, they bypass the queues of people applying for visas and employment permits and enter the community in circumstances where the State undertakes to look after their material needs while they are here. They also come here on one strict condition — if it is found that they are not entitled to refugee status or humanitarian leave to remain, they undertake by way of legal obligation to the State that they will go home. That is the basis of the 1951 convention.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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In my view — I do not want to be rancorous — this family's case was examined carefully——
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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It was not examined by the Minister. Deputy McDowell is Minister and he is supposed to read the cases for humanitarian leave to stay but he does not, he gets his officials to do it.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Deputy Crawford will be aware that all I can offer in these cases is to operate a fair system applicable to all people in similar circumstances.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister does not deny it, he does not read the files.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I cannot select one person and say on an arbitrary basis that I will treat him or her differently from others.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister does not even read the files.
Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister has an obligation to read the files under section 3 of the 1999 Act.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I do not know what point the Deputy is making. I comply with my obligations.
Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Section 3 obliges the Minister to give consideration to the files of people being deported.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Yes, so what?
Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Did the Minister do that?
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Deputy Jim O'Keeffe is not entitled to intervene.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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That is the Minister's job under section 3 but he passes it to others.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy should acquaint herself with the Carltona principle.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister should acquaint himself with the Refugee Act and the Geneva Convention.
Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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This is Deputy Crawford's matter.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Dealing with Deputy Crawford's case, in such cases every leniency is given.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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By whom? Not by the Minister.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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By the Department, the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Minister does not listen to the case.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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This House is doing itself a singular disservice in criticising a system that is the fairest in the world.
Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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We are not criticising the system, we are criticising the Minister.
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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We are asking the Minister to do his job.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Our system complies fully with UN guidelines in the manner of its operations.
Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Is the Minister carrying out his obligations under section 3 of the 1999 Act?
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I ask Deputy Cuffe and others who refer to America to consider for one moment whether a family in these circumstances would have been provided for by the American state for four years, whether education and so on that we have heard about tonight would have been provided by that society for anyone who turned up on the shores of America in similar circumstances.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Is the Minister defending the log-jam of applications to remain in the State?
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The answer to that question is a resounding "no". This country has nothing to be ashamed of in the way it deals with asylum seekers. It deals with them fairly, properly and humanely.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Is that why it takes six years to process an application?
Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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If the Minister has not considered the files, he is not compliant with the law.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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It has a system of reviews, appeals and discretionary arrangements at the end of the process second to none in the world.
Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Discretionary arrangements exercised by the Minister.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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: It is fairly operated and there is no country in Europe with a fairer system or which shows more compassion or decency to people in these circumstances than we do.
Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister is not doing his job if he does not comply with the law.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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In the last analysis, if I do not deport some people we might as well have no law at all.
Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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No one in this House is making that argument.
Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Some of the Deputies opposite are proving by their behaviour this evening how unsuited they would be to be entrusted with the difficult task I have to undertake in the name of the Irish people.
Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister must adhere to his obligations under the law.