Joanna Tuffy (Labour)
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The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has kindly extended the visa for the persons to whom this Adjournment matter refers, until June this year. However, the Department stated that any fresh application for a visa must be made from outside this country and, thus, the applicants must return to Pakistan to do so.

The son of this family is working here as a doctor. His mother and sister came here following the sudden death of the doctor's father in a car accident last year. Given that the family is a Christian one, the people concerned are apprehensive about returning to Pakistan to apply for their visas. They hope the Department would consider that they could make the visa applications here. It would be an exceptional request, but in light of their circumstances I hope the Minister and his Department might consider their request compassionately.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to apologise for the absence of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who unfortunately cannot attend the House at this time. For the benefit of the House, I am pleased to respond on the Minister's behalf to the matter raised by Senator Tuffy.

I would like to set a general context for the reply to the issues raised by the Senator. The issue of overstaying short duration visas is a major problem for immigration authorities in developed countries. In Australia, for example, overstayers comprise by far the largest percentage of the cohort of irregular immigrants. For that reason the wrap-around information sheet, which accompanies every Irish visa application form, makes it clear to the applicant that, in general, persons granted visas for particular purposes are not permitted to involve themselves in any activity or to remain in the State for any purpose other than that for which the visa was granted. Otherwise, the holiday or visit visa regimes would simply become a vehicle for longer term chain migration, especially where extended family members of persons who are here already are concerned. It should be noted in that context that there are well-established regimes for the admission of immediate family members, that is, wives and children.

The persons in question are the mother and sister of a doctor who is working in Ireland. They are aged 64 and 25, respectively. In 2004, these persons together with the doctor's father were admitted to the State on visitors' conditions. During the course of that visit it emerged that the father needed medical treatment and permission to remain was extended for four months on a humanitarian basis to allow such treatment to take place.

Upon his return to his country of origin, the father died in tragic circumstances in a car accident. On 29 November 2004, the mother and sister re-entered the State on another visit visa. In December 2004, a letter was received from the their solicitors seeking an extension of the permission. That extension was turned down without prejudice to their right to apply for a further visit visa from their country of origin.

Following that refusal, further information was supplied indicating that certain medical appointments had been made here for the mother for treatment for diabetes. For humanitarian reasons the Minister, through his officials, extended permission to remain until 30 June this year. Therefore, the position is that this permission to remain still has almost two months to run. To date the Minister has, therefore, extended the permission to remain to the members of the family in question on two separate occasions for humanitarian reasons. He is now prepared to extend permission for a third time, on this occasion for a further year from the date of expiry of the current permission on 30 June 2005, again having regard to the humanitarian circumstances of the case. This permission can be reviewed at the end of the 12-month period having regard to all the circumstances at that point.

While it is difficult to do justice to this type of issue in the context of a brief Adjournment debate, I refer Senators to the Minister's document, Immigration and Residence in Ireland, published in April this year. The document contains outline policy proposals for an immigration and residency Bill. Pages 92 and 93 deal specifically with the issue of persons coming to Ireland for medical treatment and the document also contains an entire chapter on family reunification. I understand a copy has been made available to every Member of the House.