Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the circumstances in relation to the case of a person (details supplied); if an effort has been made to follow up on their welfare and well-being since their deportation; if there is information regarding their welfare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8394/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned arrived in the State on 5 September 2002. She claimed asylum on 1 October 2002 and her application was refused following consideration of her case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

The person concerned was informed by letter dated 19 November 2004 that the Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of her and afforded her three options in accordance with Section 3(3)(b)(ii) of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended), namely to leave the State voluntarily, to consent to the making of a Deportation Order or to submit, within 15 working days, written representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why she should be allowed to remain temporarily in the State i.e. why she should not be deported.

Her case was examined 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. Consideration was given to all representations submitted on her behalf for permission to remain in the State. On 4 May 2005 my predecessor refused permission to remain temporarily in the State and instead signed a Deportation Order in respect of her. Notice of this order was served by registered post requiring the person concerned to present herself at the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB),13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2 on Tuesday 7 June 2005 in order to make travel arrangements for her removal from the State. She presented as required and given further presentation dates which she kept. On 5 July 2005, she was removed from the State to Nigeria.

The effect of the Deportation Order is that the person concerned must leave the State and remain thereafter out of the State.

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, as stated earlier, 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 United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), in evaluating the safety of making returns to Nigeria and other third countries. In this case, I am entirely satisfied that there were no refoulement related reasons to prevent the deportation of the person concerned.

Further, 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 her was justified.