Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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122. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure to be followed to regularise residency status in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51249/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The persons concerned are a husband and wife who entered the State on visit/short stay visas. The Deputy might wish to note that the maximum stay on a visit/short stay visa is 90 days. The first named person concerned entered the State in 2006 and was granted permission to remain for an initial 90 days. He was granted further permission to remain from 8th July, 2011 to 8th September, 2011. The second named person concerned entered the State in 2007 and was granted permission to remain for 90 days. They have both remained in the State without permission since those times.

Consequently, in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the persons concerned were notified, by separate letters dated 21st October, 2013, that the Minister proposed to make deportation orders in respect of them. They were each 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 written representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why they should not have deportation orders made against them. Representations have been submitted on behalf of the persons concerned.

The position in the State of the persons concerned will now 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 final decisions are made. Once decisions have been made, these decisions, and the consequences of the decisions, will be conveyed in writing to the persons concerned.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.