Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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197. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality why a person (details supplied) in County Longford was recently returned to that person's homeland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1791/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware of the legal requirement on an Immigration Officer at a Port of Entry to apply the provisions of Section 4 of the Immigration Act, 2004 where the refusal of permission to enter or be in the State is contemplated, to satisfy themselves that one or more of the grounds set out in the section apply to a given circumstance. On a procedural level Immigration Officers must have their decision approved by a Supervisor or more senior officer. In reaching the satisfaction threshold an Officer has regard to the elements set out in Section 4(10) in the specific context of the facts or information presented or known in a particular case.

A non-national has no automatic entitlement to enter the State and must present themselves to an Immigration Officer to seek such a permission. There are various categories or reasons on which a non-national may seek entry including seeking to take up employment in a situation where the person is in possession of a valid employment permit. Immigration Officers will, when presented with an employment permit, seek to verify the validity of such a permit. In some cases such permits whilst validly issued in the first instance can subsequently cease to be extant. In the current case, by virtue of the non-national's extended absence from the State for over two years the employment permit previously issued ceased to be valid and having established that the person intended to enter employment in the State they were refused permission to enter.

The Deputy will be aware that should a non-national wish to come to Ireland to engage in employment where an employment permit is necessary, an application for such a permit should be made to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the permit obtained before the person seeks to enter the State. Subsequently, and subject to any requirement to be in possession of an Irish visa, such a person would present to an Immigration Officer seeking permission to enter the State to engage in the employment.