Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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203. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the correct procedure persons (details supplied) must follow to regularise their position; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8181/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that correspondence issued to the persons mentioned by the Deputy on 12 April 2016 regarding their illegal immigration status in the State. It would appear that this family arrived in the State in 2005 and remained here undocumented since that time. This is in breach of Section 5(1) of the Immigration Act 2004 which provides that no non-Irish national may be in the State other than in accordance with the terms of any permission given to them by or on behalf of the Minister. Furthermore, Section 5(2) of the Act provides that a non Irish national who is in the State in contravention of subsection (1) is for all purposes unlawfully present in the State.

A person who is found to be in breach of the requirements of the Immigration Act 2004 may be subject to a fine not exceeding €3000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. As a non-EEA worker in the State a work permit is required to take up employment.

The persons referred to by the Deputy were advised to make arrangements to leave the State by 12 May 2016 and if evidence of their departure is not received by the due date that it is the intention of this Office to issue a notification under the provision of Section 3(4) of the Immigration Act 1999 (ie. proposal to deport) in respect of them. It is at this stage that any special humanitarian and family circumstances will be taken into consideration.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been 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 Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.