Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 193: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 326 of 9 May 2006, if the file of the person involved has been passed on to him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7241/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Question No. 326 of Tuesday 9 May 2006 and the written Reply to that Question. As stated in the earlier Reply, the person concerned, accompanied by his two children, arrived in the State on 3 September 2004 and applied for asylum. His application was refused following consideration of his case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner. The person concerned was advised of his entitlement to appeal this recommendation to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal but did not do so.

Subsequently, in accordance with Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was informed, by letter dated 6 December 2005, that the Minister proposed to make deportation orders in respect of him and his children. He was given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of consenting to the making of a deportation order or of submitting written representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why he and his children should be allowed to remain in the State. Representations were received on behalf of the person concerned.

On 10 October 2006, regulations known as the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations, 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 2006), came into force. The person concerned submitted an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State in accordance with these Regulations and this application is under consideration at present. When consideration of this application has been completed, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome.

In the event that the Subsidiary Protection application is refused, the case file of the person concerned, including all representations submitted, will be considered under Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and Section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) on the Prohibition of Refoulement. When this latter consideration has been completed, the case file of the person concerned will be passed to me for decision.

The Deputy might also wish to note that the person concerned wrote to my Department on 10 October 2007 indicating that he wished to apply to return voluntarily to his country of origin. In a reply to that request, dated 16 October 2007, my Department advised the person concerned of the voluntary return options open to him. Specifically, he was advised to contact the Dublin Office of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) or the Voluntary Returns Unit of my Department with a view to the necessary arrangements being made. The person concerned does not appear to have concluded any voluntary return arrangement to date, however, that option remains open to him. In the event that the voluntary return option is availed of, the applications for Subsidiary Protection and for permission to remain in the State will no longer be relevant.