Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 423: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will respond to correspondence from a person (details supplied) in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21073/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned arrived in the State on 15 July 2002 and applied for asylum. Her asylum application was refused following the consideration of her case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

Subsequently, in accordance with Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was informed, by letter dated 22 November 2004, that the Minister proposed to make a deportation order in respect of her. She 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 making representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why she should be allowed to remain temporarily in the State. Representations were submitted on behalf of the person concerned.

Following the consideration of her case under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and Section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) on the prohibition of refoulement, as an exceptional measure, the person concerned was, subject to certain stated conditions, granted temporary leave to remain in the State for an initial period of two years and this permission has been subsequently renewed for three years up until 10 October 2010.

In relation to the attached correspondence, requesting that the person concerned be allowed to bring her two children into the State; the position is that the person concerned was given, as an exceptional measure, permission to remain in the State on humanitarian grounds. One of the stated conditions of her permission to remain in the State is that the person concerned accept that the granting of permission to remain does not confer any entitlement or legitimate expectation on any other person, whether related to her or not, to enter the State. The entitlement of family reunification in this State is limited to the circumstances provided for in Section 18 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended). In essence this entitlement is only available to persons who have been recognised as refugees in this State and this provision is clearly not applicable to the person concerned.