Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 791: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will review the issues in respect of deportation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; if he will grant extended residency in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29780/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned arrived in the State on 18 June 2003 on foot of a Work Permit, valid from 12 May 2003 to 11 May 2004. This Work Permit was not subsequently renewed. The person concerned then applied for asylum, on 6 April 2005. 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.

Subsequently, in accordance with Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) the person concerned was informed, by letter dated 12 February 2008, 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. In addition, she was notified of her entitlement to apply for Subsidiary Protection in the State in accordance with the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations, 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 2006). The person concerned did not submit an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State. Neither did she submit representations in support of an application to be allowed to remain temporarily in the State at that time. Following consideration of her case, 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, a Deportation Order was signed in respect of the person concerned on 9 July 2008. Notice of this Order was served by registered letter dated 24 July 2008 requiring the person concerned to present herself to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) on 12 August 2008 in order to make travel arrangements for her deportation from the State.

On 1 August 2008 the legal representative of the person concerned advised my Department that they had, on their client's behalf, lodged an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State and had also lodged representations in support of an application for leave to remain in the State. They contended that these applications did not appear to have been considered by the Minister when making his decision to sign the Deportation Order. Arising from this claim, they were seeking an undertaking that the Deportation Order not be enforced pending the consideration of such documentation. In response, my Department advised the legal representative of the person concerned that there was no record of an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State having been received or of representations having been submitted in support of an application for leave to remain in the State. However, as an exceptional measure, my Department agreed to allow a further period of ten working days within which such documentation could be lodged. This position was made known by my Department's letter dated 5 August 2008.

An application for Subsidiary Protection in the State and representations in support of an application for leave to remain in the State have since been submitted on behalf of the person concerned. Given that the person concerned is the subject of a Deportation Order, the application for Subsidiary Protection in the State is deemed to be an application under Regulation 4(2) of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations, 2006 i.e. a formal request that the Minister exercise his discretion to facilitate the consideration of an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State. This request is under consideration at present. When a decision on this request has been made, this will be notified in writing to the person concerned and her legal representative. In the event that the Regulation 4 (2) request is approved, my Department will then proceed to consider the substantive application for Subsidiary Protection in the State.

Additionally, in light of the status of the person concerned as a person subject to a Deportation Order, the representations lodged in support of an application for leave to remain in the State will be treated as an application to have the Deportation Order revoked, pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(11) of the Immigration Act, 1999 (as amended). This application will be considered after the Subsidiary Protection issues referred to earlier have been dealt with.

Pending the consideration of the Subsidiary Protection issues and the Section 3 (11) application, the existing Deportation Order will not be enforced.