Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

This is a largely technical amendment. Its purpose is to restore to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform a power to prescribe the ports and airports at which non-nationals coming from a place outside the State can land. This is a matter of secondary legislation under the Aliens Act 1935 and worked effectively without controversy as part of the Aliens Order 1946, which was the major statutory instrument made under the 1935 Act.

It could be modified from time to time by the Minister making a simple amending statutory instrument to reflect shifts in traffic flow and new routes being established. However, section 2(1) of the Immigration Act 1999 gave the force of statue to the Aliens Order 1946. It was claimed in the wake of the Laurentiu decision that it was invalid to have something as extensive as the Aliens Order in the form of a mere statutory instrument amendable by me or my successors without reference to Parliament.

It was decided to give the Aliens Order, which was up to then only a statutory instrument, the effect of statute law in the recent legislation. Senators will recall that this was done to protect the order from challenge following the finding of the High Court in the Laurentiu case.