Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 179: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will confirm that all those deported to their homelands by his order have been properly treated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22221/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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In relation to the treatment of returnees to their homelands, it should be borne in mind that before a decision to deport is made in any individual case, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform must have regard to the eleven factors contained in Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended) and the provisions of Section 5 of the Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended) on the Prohibition of Refoulement.

This means that the safety of returning a person to their country of origin, or refoulement as it is commonly referred to, is fully considered in every case when deciding whether or not to make a deportation order. This means in practice that a person shall not be expelled from the State or returned in any manner whatsoever to a State where, in my opinion, the life or freedom of that person would be threatened on account of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. The legislation requires that this consideration is given before the deportation decision is made. In arriving at such decisions, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform uses extensive country of origin information drawn from different independent sources, including the UNHCR, in evaluating the safety of making returns to third countries.