Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Question 368: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of persons deported to Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Angola and Kenya in the past year. [38655/05]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Question 369: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applications for leave to remain on humanitarian grounds which were made in 2003, 2004 and to date in 2005; and the number which were granted in each of those years. [38656/05]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Question 370: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the factors which are considered in an application for leave to remain on humanitarian grounds. [38657/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 368 to 370, inclusive, together.

There have been no deportations to Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Angola or Kenya in the past year. It should be noted that consideration is given to the non-refoulement provision in section 5 of the Refugee Act, 1996, as amended, before making a deportation to any country. My Department uses extensive country of origin information drawn from different independent sources, including UNHCR, in evaluating the safety of making returns to third countries. The political and social circumstances in countries change and these are monitored over time and, moreover, are assessed in relation to the individual circumstances of the person concerned.

In determining whether to make a deportation order or grant temporary leave to remain in the State, I must have regard to the eleven factors set out in section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended, and section 5 — prohibition of refoulement— of the Refugee Act 1996, as amended. Temporary leave to remain is considered in every case regardless of whether representations are made by, or on behalf of, the persons concerned. The figures in the following table refer to persons who received notification of intention to deport under section 3(b)(ii) of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended, but were subsequently granted temporary leave to remain in the State for an initial period of one year. The majority of these would have been persons who were refused refugee status in the State.

The figures in the table above do not include persons who have been granted permission to remain in the State on the basis of parentage of an Irish-born child either under the revised scheme announced in January 2005 or under the earlier arrangements, or those granted residency on the basis of marriage to Irish-EU nationals. Many of these persons would otherwise have been considered for leave to remain in the context of the deportation system described above. For example, in the case of the Irish-born child scheme initiated in January of this year, a total of 17,877 applications for leave to remain were received, of which, as of 6 December 2005, 16,329 have been granted.