Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 373: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 154 of 14 December 2006, if he is satisfied that the deportation of the person concerned will not result in a threat to the life or well-being of the applicant in view of the information supplied by ORAC or RAT which appears to suggest a major concern for the applicants safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2167/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply to his Dáil Question No. 154 of 14 December 2006. The status of the person concerned remains as set out in that Reply.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Deputy might wish to note that, in addition to the eleven factors contained in Section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), I must also have regard for Section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) on the Prohibition of Refoulement before making a deportation order. This essentially means that the safety of returning a person, or refoulement as it is commonly referred to, is fully considered in every case when deciding whether or not to make a deportation order i.e. 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. My Department uses extensive country of origin information drawn from different independent sources, including the UNHCR, in evaluating the safety of making returns to the country in question and other third countries. In this case, I am entirely satisfied that there are no refoulement related reasons to prevent the deportation of the person concerned.

The person concerned was classified as evading his deportation on 31 October 2003. As such he is liable to arrest and detention under Section 5 of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended, for the purposes of ensuring his removal from the State. I would therefore urge the person concerned to come forward and present himself to the Garda National Immigration Bureau without further delay.

The person concerned is awaiting deportation following a comprehensive examination of his asylum claim and of his application to remain temporarily in the State.

I am satisfied that the applications made by the person concerned for asylum and subsequently for temporary leave to remain in the State, together with all refoulement issues, were fairly and comprehensively examined and, as such, the decision to deport him is justified. The enforcement of the deportation order is now an operational matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau.