Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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456. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure that is followed at ports of entry when a person is refused leave-to-land; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11365/15]

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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457. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure that is followed at ports of entry when a person is refused leave-to-land, and subsequently applies for asylum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11366/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 456 and 457 together.

The removal of illegal immigrants from the State is a necessary feature of the enforcement of immigration legislation with the purpose of upholding the integrity of the immigration system. In enforcing the law in this respect, Ireland is no different from other countries who also remove individuals who have no lawful right to remain within their territory.

The legal provisions governing the refusal of permission to land are set-out in Section 4(3) of the Immigration Act, 2004. This provision sets out the eleven grounds on which a non-national may be refused permission to enter or be in the State. A person who is refused such a permission is informed of the decision in writing. The written notice specifies the ground(s) on which the person was refused.

A person refused a permission to enter the State may be removed from the State. Removals are essentially operational matters for the Garda National Immigration Bureau who work closely with officials of my Department in arranging the necessary travel documents and other papers required. Section 5 of the Immigration Act, 2003 contains the main provisions dealing with the removal from the State of persons refused leave to land and specifies that a person to whom this section applies may be arrested by an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána and detained in a prescribed place of detention for the purpose of facilitating their removal from the State.

It should be noted by virtue of Section 5(3) of the Immigration Act, 2003, the State has a positive duty to remove a person as soon as practicable. The detention of a person cannot exceed eight weeks in aggregate in accordance with the provisions of Section 5(3)(a) of the Immigration Act, 2003 which states “ A person arrested and detained under this section may, subject to subsection (4), be detained only until such time (being as soon as practicable) as he or she is removed from the State in accordance with this section but, in any event, may not be detained for a period exceeding 8 weeks in aggregate”.

In general it is the practice to remove persons from the State on the next available flight or ship. In keeping with standard practice in other jurisdictions, some individuals are escorted to their country of origin or to a connecting hub. In the case of persons refused permission to enter the State at ports of entry, scheduled commercial aircraft and ferries are used to effect removals.

Persons may be refused permission to land in the State and subsequently permitted to enter the State in circumstances where they have made an application pursuant to the Refugee Act,1996. Where a person applies for Refugee status at a port of entry, section 8 of the Refugee Act, 1996 makes clear that the person shall be interviewed by an immigration officer as soon as practicable after arrival and that he or she may apply to the Minister for a declaration of refugee status. The immigration officer concerned is required to inform the person that he or she may apply for a declaration and that he or she is entitled to consult a solicitor and the representative in Ireland of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The interview undertaken by the immigration officer shall, where necessary and possible, be conducted with the assistance of an interpreter and a record of the interview is kept by the immigration officer conducting the interview and a copy given to the person making the application, the Irish based representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Refugee Applications Commissioner. The Minister having considered the relevant provisions of the Refugee Act, 1996 will formally refer such applications to the Refugee Applications Commissioner for determination.