Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 150: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if it is acceptable that a person (details supplied) in County Mayo has been refused permission to remain here due to the fact that their children no longer reside here; the steps he will take to change this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30544/06]

Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 213: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on whether it is acceptable that a person (details supplied) in County Mayo has been refused permission to remain in the State; if he will take steps to change this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30477/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 150 and 213 together.

The person concerned arrived in the State on 3 April 2002 and made an application for asylum on the same day. He withdrew his request for asylum on 21 October 2002 and made an application for permission to remain in the State on the basis of parentage of an Irish child born on 8 October 2002.

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.

Since the person in question did not have an alternative legal basis for remaining in this jurisdiction the issue of permission to remain was considered in the context of a Ministerial proposal to deport him. Before that process was finalised a new residency alternative was introduced for parents of Irish born children. The person in question made an application for permission to remain in the State under the revised arrangements announced by me on 15 January 2005 for parents of Irish children born before 1 January 2005, which is commonly referred to as the IBC/05 scheme.

It is a requirement of the IBC/05 scheme that each applicant is resident in the State with their Irish child on a continuous basis since the child's birth and that evidence of such residence be provided with the application. The person in question did not provide satisfactory evidence of being continuously resident in the State with his Irish born children since their birth. Consequently his application under the revised arrangements was refused on 16 November 2005 on that basis.

The immigration status of the person concerned is currently being reviewed. In the event that the person in question does not have permission to remain following this review, he will then have an opportunity to make further representations as to his continued presence in the State.