Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

104. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which appeals in the cases of decisions to deport and subsequent appeals have been successful in each of the past three years to date in 2017 here and in counties Sligo and Leitrim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16926/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The statutory criteria which must be considered in relation to a decision to make a deportation order under section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1999 include national security and public policy, the character and conduct of the person concerned and the common good. In determining whether to make a deportation order, in addition to the factors set out in Section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1999, I must also consider all relevant constitutional and international human rights arising, including those enshrined in the Refugee Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture and the European Charter of Human Rights. The question of not returning a person to a place where certain fundamental rights would be breached (or non refoulementas it is commonly referred to) is fully considered in every case when deciding whether or not to make a deportation order. This involves consideration of whether returning the person would result in the life or freedom of that person being threatened on account of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, or whether the person would be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

A deportation order requires the person concerned to remove themselves from the State and it is only where they fail to do so that the State is forced to remove them and enforce the rule of law.

Revocations can arise through a wide variety of circumstances including, for example, persons the subject of a deportation order who subsequently make an application under EU Treaty Rights or make an application for asylum, having been previously here illegally. The number of successful applications to have deportation orders revoked in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(11) of the Immigration Act 1999 for the past three years to date are contained in the table below. However, statistics in relation to the geographical spread of these applications, as requested by the Deputy, are not maintained.