Written answers

Wednesday, 9 November 2016

Department of Justice and Equality

Migration Data

Photo of Fiona O'LoughlinFiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Syrian nationals refused access or leave to land here in each year since the start of the war in Syria in 2011. [33925/16]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances 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 in the years 2011 to 2014 there has been an average of less than 10 per annum refused permission to enter the State of persons of Syrian nationality or claiming to be of Syrian nationality. The figure for 2015 was 62 and in the first 10 months of this year is 39.

These persons did not travel directly to the State from their country of origin and, where it arose, would be returned to their point of embarkation for the State - predominantly other EU member States. On a general point there tends to be a rise in persons claiming to be from conflict zones when confronted at ports of entry – each case is examined on the information available to the immigration officer.

There are in total eleven grounds on which an immigration officer may refuse to give a permission to enter the State and these are set out at Section 4 (3) of the Immigration Act 2004. While a person may be refused permission to enter the State based on a number of grounds, such refusal need only be based on any one of those grounds. Immigration officers are required to provide a refused person with a written notice setting out the reasons for such a decision.

In all cases, removals from the State are conducted in accordance with the law. Removals are essentially operational matters for the Garda National Immigration Bureau who work closely with officials of my Department in arranging where necessary travel documents and other papers required.

It should be noted that information on numbers refused permission to enter the State may be subject to revision over time where individual cases are examined further and the status of some cases may change.

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