Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 83: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his policy regarding the length of time individuals spend on deportation orders; if there is a maximum period covering such orders for individuals who have not been involved in any criminal activities; if any individuals on long standing deportation orders have eventually been granted leave to stay here on compassionate grounds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2880/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Deportation Orders are made by the Department's officials and signed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform pursuant to Section 3, Subsection 2 of the Immigration Act, 1999, as amended. The aforementioned Act has itself been subsequently amended by Section 10 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act, 2000. There are two types of Deportation Order as follows: (i) A consent Order and (ii) An enforcement Order.

(i) A consent Order is made in accordance with Section 3(8) of the Immigration Act, 1999, as amended, and is made on foot of a signed consent in writing from the person concerned. Said Order has a limited lifespan of 3 months duration. This means that if the person the subject of the Order has not removed himself/herself from the State within the specified period, the Order lapses and ceases to have any effect.

(ii) An enforcement Order, however, has no such limitation and exists in perpetuity unless it is revoked by the Minister. The revocation of a Deportation Order may be sought pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(11) of the Immigration Act, 1999, as amended. However such an application would require substantial and compelling new grounds in order to be successful. My Department does not keep statistics on the number of Section 3(11) applications where leave to remain is subsequently granted on humanitarian grounds.

Deportation Orders will usually quote one of two subsections of the Immigration Act, 1999, as amended. Subsection 2(f) refers to persons who have been refused refugee status in the State while Subsection 2(i) refers to persons whose removal would, in the opinion of the Minister, be conducive to the common good. The latter category covers persons who for reasons other than refusal of refugee status have nonetheless become illegally present in the State. The effect of a Deportation Order is that the person concerned must leave the State and remain thereafter out of the State.

The onus is on a person served with a Deportation Order, to remove himself/herself from the State thereby complying with the provisions of the Order. When a person fails to comply with his/her obligations under a validly served Deportation Order, that person is deemed to be evading his/her Deportation Order and is classified as such. In the event of non-compliance with a Deportation Order, the State, specifically the Garda National Immigration Bureau, may proceed to enforce the Order. This may involve arrest and detention in accordance with Immigration law.