Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá mé ag ardú ceiste ar maidin atá thar a bheith tromchúiseach. A number of months ago a man in Ballinasloe was woken up by gardaí coming to his door. They took him out of his bed and brought him to prison in Dublin. Subsequently, when this was being challenged in the High Court, the Garda National Immigration Bureau backed out of the case. The man was subsequently deported to Brazil, where he was born. One might say that these things happen and that it is terrible, but this man was married to an Irish citizen. The grounds for his removal from the country, as I understand it, were based on misinformation given to the HSE about the status of his marriage. In recent times, the HSE has admitted that there were absolutely no grounds for the information given. Therefore, there was no reason whatsoever for his marriage not to be accepted as a proper and full legal marriage.

To add insult to injury, the man is still in Brazil and the file on his case is still sitting on the desk of the Minister. His wife has had to go to Brazil to be with him. She has suffered extraordinary distress, as have her family and friends. It has affected all aspects of their lives, including the business that his wife runs. It is absolutely disgraceful that this should have been allowed to happen. It raises many questions about the procedures used by the HSE when it is given misinformation or spurious information. HSE staff acted on it against someone. They were in the wrong and did not give due process a chance.

It also raises the question of whether the Garda National Immigration Bureau and Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service followed due procedure or checked the facts. All of this happened, even though the man in no way resisted any attempts to arrest him, etc. He gave the information that was correct. It was disregarded. His wife gave the same information. Nevertheless, those responsible proceeded to deport him.

I am calling on the Leader to use his office to address this matter. If the Minister could be called in to debate the issue, I would be grateful. This is an immediate issue. I call on the Leader to intervene with the Minister's office, look at the file on the Minister's desk and give this man permission to come back to his wife, job and family in Ballinasloe. He should be allowed to continue his life with his wife, as he should have been allowed to do from day 1. I imagine those involved will follow up themselves on the issues that pertain to the case and the way it was handled. It is disgraceful that this should have taken place. I call on the Government to act immediately to rectify the wrong.