Written answers
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform
Immigration Service
9:00 am
Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Question 245: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of persons refused leave to land at various entry points; the specific number at each entry point; the reasons leave to land was refused in each case; the ages and nationalities of the persons refused; the countries they were returned to; if persons refused were given access to a translator and legal advice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42810/10]
Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context
Section 4 of the Immigration Act, 2004, empowers an immigration officer, on behalf of the Minister, to authorise a non-national to land or be in the State. Sub-section (3) of Section 4 sets out the various circumstances which an immigration officer may have regard to in refusing to give such authorisation.
The table below sets out the number of persons refused permission to land in the State between January and September 2010 at various points of entry:
| Location | Number refused |
| Dublin airport | 1,512 |
| Dundalk | 428 |
| Dublin port | 124 |
| Cork airport | 88 |
| Rosslare Port | 65 |
| Shannon airport | 42 |
| Dún Laoghaire | 31 |
| Kerry | 12 |
| Knock | 10 |
| Cork Port | 5 |
| Galway airport | 2 |
| Monaghan | 2 |
| Border with Northern Ireland | 2 |
| Sligo airport | 1 |
| Limerick | 1 |
| Donegal airport | 1 |
| Other | 23 |
| Total | 2,349 |
A further breakdown of these figures by gender and age is not available and would necessitate a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources to obtain.
The following table shows the number of persons refused permission and the reason for such refusal, as set out in sub section 3 of section 4 of the Immigration Act, 2004:
| Subsection. | Reason for refusal | Number of refusals |
| a | That the non-national is not in a position to support himself or herself and any accompanying dependants. | 216 |
| b | That the non-national intends to take up employment in the State, but is not in possession of a valid employment permit (within the meaning of the Employment Permits Act 2003). | 78 |
| c | that the non-national suffers from a condition set out in the First Schedule; | 0 |
| d | That the non-national has been convicted (whether in the State or elsewhere) of an offence that may be punished under the law of the place of conviction by imprisonment for a period of one year or by a more severe penalty. | 6 |
| e | That the non-national, not being exempt, by virtue of an order under Section 17, from the requirement to have an Irish visa, is not the holder of a valid Irish visa | 715 |
| f | That the non-national is the subject of - (i) a deportation order (within the meaning of the Act of 1999) or (ii) an exclusion order (within the meaning of that Act), or (iii) a determination by the Minister that it is conducive to the public. | 30 |
| g | That the non-national is not in possession of a valid passport or other equivalent document, issued by or on behalf of an authority recognised by the Government, which establishes his or her identity and nationality | 715 |
| h | That the non-national - (i) intends to travel (whether immediately or not) to Great Britain or Northern Ireland, and (ii) would not qualify for admission to Great Britain or Northern Ireland if he or she arrived there from a place other than the | 235 |
| i | That the non-national, having arrived in the State in the course of employment as a seaman, has remained in the State without the leave of an immigration officer after the departure of the ship in which he or she so arrived | 1 |
| j | That the non-national's entry into, or presence in, the State could pose a threat to national security or be contrary to public policy | 35 |
| k | That there is reason to believe that the non-national intends to enter the State for purposes other than those expressed by the non-national. | 874 |
* NB a person may be refused for more than one ground, therefore the figures will not necessarily be identical.
The following table shows a breakdown of the age groups of persons refused, where such information has been determined, to date in 2010 (30th September, 2010) :
| Age Group | Number | ||
| 18-19 | 75 | ||
| 20-29 | 974 | ||
| 30-39 | 743 | ||
| 40-49 | 299 | ||
| 50-59 | 90 | ||
| 60-69 | 38 | ||
| 70-79 | 1 | ||
| 80-89 | 2 |
The following table provides a breakdown, by nationality of the number of persons refused permission to enter the State in 2010, to 30th September, 2010 :
| Nationality | No. | Nationality | No. | Nationality | No. |
| Afghan | 80 | Hong Kong | 4 | Peruvian | 1 |
| Albanian | 20 | Indian | 69 | Philippine | 36 |
| Algerian | 11 | Indonesian | 1 | Qatar | 4 |
| American | 81 | Iranian | 18 | Russian | 13 |
| Angolan | 10 | Iraqi | 22 | Rwandan | 4 |
| Argentinian | 8 | Israeli | 10 | Saudi Arabian | 14 |
| Australian | 8 | Ivorian | 2 | Senegalese | 1 |
| Azerbaijani | 1 | Jamaican | 2 | Serbian | 1 |
| Bangladeshi | 16 | Japanese | 8 | Seychellois / Seychelloise | 2 |
| Belarusian | 3 | Jordanian | 5 | Sierra Leonean | 7 |
| Bolivian | 101 | Kenyan | 6 | Singaporean | 1 |
| Botswanian | 4 | Kosovar | 1 | Somali | 33 |
| Brazilian | 270 | Kurdish | 1 | South African | 109 |
| British Overseas | 9 | Kuwaiti | 3 | South Korean | 4 |
| Burkinabe | 1 | Lebanese | 7 | Sri Lankan | 5 |
| Burundian | 2 | Lesotho | 1 | St. Lucian | 1 |
| Cameroon | 22 | Liberian | 4 | ||
| Canadian | 17 | Libyan | 4 | Sudanese | 24 |
| Cape Verdean | 1 | Macaon | 1 | Swazi | 2 |
| Chilean | 5 | Macedonian | 2 | Taiwanese | 2 |
| Chinese | 288 | Malawian | 28 | Tanzanian | 2 |
| Colombian | 10 | Malaysian | 90 | Thai | 8 |
| Congolese | 14 | Mauritanian | 3 | Timor-Leste | 1 |
| Croatian | 17 | Mauritian | 19 | Togolese | 3 |
| Cuban | 3 | Mexican | 12 | Tunisian | 1 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 3 | Moldovan | 20 | Turkish | 20 |
| Ecuadorean | 6 | Monaco | 1 | Ugandan | 5 |
| Egyptian | 46 | Mongolian | 2 | Ukrainian | 32 |
| Equatorial Guinean | 1 | Moroccan | 13 | United Arab Emirate | 2 |
| Eritrean | 9 | Myanmar | 1 | ||
| Ethiopian | 5 | Nepalese | 18 | Venezuelan | 9 |
| Gabonese | 1 | New Zealander | 11 | Vietnamese | 4 |
| Gambian | 2 | Nigerien (Niger) | 3 | Yemenese | 3 |
| Georgian | 7 | Nigerian | 156 | Zairean | 1 |
| Ghanaian | 14 | Zambian | 1 | ||
| Guatemalan | 2 | Pakistani | 59 | Zimbabwean | 43 |
| Guinean | 4 | Palestinian | 9 | ||
| Guyanian | 4 | Panamanian | 1 | ||
Information regarding persons refused leave to land, including nationality and age, might not be established at the time of arrival in the State, particularly in circumstances where the passport or identification card produced to an immigration officer is discovered to be bogus. The information provided above relates only to circumstances where the immigration officer concerned was satisfied he/she was in a position to establish the nationality and/or age of the person refused leave to land.
In circumstances where consideration is being given to refusing an application made by a non-national for 'a permission' to enter the State and the non-national is not proficient in the English language, the services of a translator are frequently employed. Where a person being refused leave to land makes a request to make contact with a legal advisor, the opportunity to do so is provided.
In accordance with the provisions of Immigration Act, 2004, every refused person is served a notice in which the reason or reasons for refusing an application for a permission to enter the State, is detailed.
No comments