Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 132: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding the residency application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22586/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned applied for asylum on 5 October 2005. In accordance with Section 9 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended), the person concerned was entitled to remain in the State until his application for asylum was decided. His asylum application was refused following consideration of his case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

Arising from the refusal of his asylum application, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 31 August 2009, that the Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of him. He 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 a Deportation Order should not be made against him. In addition, he was notified of his 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 submitted an application for Subsidiary Protection in the State in accordance with these Regulations and this application is under consideration at present. When consideration of this application has been completed, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome. In the event that the application for Subsidiary Protection is refused, the position in the State of the person concerned will then be decided by reference to the provisions of 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. All representations submitted will be considered before the file is passed to me for decision. Once a decision has been made, this decision and the consequences of the decision will be conveyed in writing to the person concerned.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 133: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made to date and the procedure to be followed in the case of an application for residency and leave to remain in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22589/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to my detailed Reply to his recent Parliamentary Question, No. 341 of Tuesday, 18 May 2010, in this matter. The position in the State of the person concerned is as set out in that Reply.

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 134: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding an application for subsidiary protection in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22617/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned applied for asylum on 6 October 2005. In accordance with Section 9 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended), the person concerned was entitled to remain in the State until his application for asylum was decided. His asylum application was refused following consideration of his case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

Arising from the refusal of his asylum application, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 30 June 2006, that the Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of him. He 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 a Deportation Order should not be made against him. Representations were received on behalf of the person concerned.

Following consideration of these representations, 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, it was decided to not issue a Deportation Order in respect of the person concerned. Instead, the person concerned was granted Leave to Remain in the State for a three year period to 24 March 2012. This decision was conveyed in writing to the person concerned by letter dated 23 March 2009.

On 29 May 2009 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. In response, my Department advised that legal representative that as their client had been granted permission to remain in the State, he was not entitled to apply for Subsidiary Protection. However, as an exceptional measure, my Department agreed to consider an application under Regulation 4 (2) of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations, 2006 i.e. a formal request to the Minister that he exercise his discretion to facilitate the consideration of an application for Subsidiary Protection.

The Regulation 4 (2) request was approved, and the person concerned was considered for Subsidiary Protection. Following consideration of this application, it was determined that the person concerned was not eligible for Subsidiary Protection. The person concerned was notified of this decision by letter dated 25 January 2010. The Deputy might wish to note that this negative decision has no impact on the existing status of the person concerned i.e. he still has permission to remain in the State, subject to stated conditions, until 24 March 2012.