Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The wife in question arrived in the State in December 2001 and made an asylum application. She gave birth in March 2002. The husband arrived in the State in April 2002 and made an application for asylum. Both subsequently withdrew their asylum applications and applied for residency on the basis of parentage of the Irish born child.

Following the decision of the Supreme Court in the cases of L & O, the separate procedure which then existed to enable persons to apply to reside in the State on the sole basis of parentage of an Irish-born child ended on 19 February 2003. The Government decided that the separate procedure would not apply to cases which were outstanding on that date. There are a large number of such cases outstanding at present, including the case to which the Deputy refers.

Since the persons in question do not have an alternative legal basis for remaining in this jurisdiction, the issue of permission to remain will be considered but only in the context of a ministerial proposal to make a deportation order. In that context, a notification of a proposal to make a deportation order will issue to the persons in question and they will be given an opportunity to make representations in respect of it. If, in the light of those representations and the range of factors set out in section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1999, I decide not to make a deportation order they will be given leave to remain on a humanitarian basis. Due to the large number of such cases in hand, I am unable to say at this stage when the file will be further examined.