Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 269: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position in the matter of residency in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34237/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I refer to the Deputy to Parliamentary Question No. 147 of Thursday 26 June 2008 and the written Reply to that Question. The person concerned applied for asylum on 15 June 2005. She gave birth to a child in this State in June 2005. Her asylum application was refused following consideration of her case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, 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 30 August 2006, that the Minister proposed to make Deportation Orders in respect of her and her child. She was given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of consenting to the making of Deportation Orders or of making representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why she and her child should be allowed to remain temporarily in the State. Representations were submitted on behalf of the person concerned at that time.

The Deputy might wish to note that in my response to Parliamentary Question No. 147 of Thursday 26 June 2008, I inadvertently stated that the person concerned had submitted an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State. On further examination by Officials in my Department of her case file, it was discovered that the person in question had not, in fact, submitted an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State. Arising from this error, and in the interests of fairness to the person concerned, she has now been invited 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). In the event that the person concerned decides to submit an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State, this will be fully considered in my Department. Upon completion of this consideration, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome.

In the event that a possible Subsidiary Protection application is received and refused, or if no such application is received, 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 is passed to me for decision.