The Department of Justice's attempt to deport two asylum-seekers whose children were born in Ireland is to be challenged in the High Court next month by the Refugee Legal Service.
Deportation papers were served on a Nigerian man and a Romanian national in December after their applications for asylum were turned down, but after the births of the children.
The challenge by the Refugee Legal Service, which is part of the Legal Aid Board, could quickly lead to the establishment of an important legal precedent, legal sources said last night.
The High Court last month turned down an application by a pregnant Nigerian woman, who argued that her unborn child's right to life would be threatened if she were deported.
The Department of Justice's decision to seek the deportation of the two men marks a change in policy which first became evident in late November, sources say.
Up until then, it had in practice accepted that the birth of a child to an asylum-seeking couple meant that no further action could be taken against the parents.
The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 2001, which was required by the Good Friday agreement, lays down that every person born in Ireland is entitled to be an Irish citizen.
"This feature of Irish citizenship law is unique in the EU, and unusual worldwide," said the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, in mid-December, who claimed that there was evidence of abuse.
"In other EU member states, the citizenship of a child born in that state is generally dependent on the citizenship of the parents and/or the status and duration of residence of the parents," he said.
By the end of November, there were 5,247 applications for "permission to remain on the basis of parentage of an Irish citizen from current or former asylum applicants," he said. A 1990 High Court ruling meant "a non-Irish national who becomes the parent of an Irish citizen has a strong claim" to be allowed stay.
The Refugee Legal Service, which receives €10 million from the Government, struggled for a time to establish its independent credentials with refugees and asylum-seekers.
"There were perceptions among them about our independence, but that was overcome during 2000," said the Legal Aid Board's director of legal aid, Mr Frank Brady. Set up in February 1999, it handled 1,622 cases during that year. However, this number had jumped to 3,424 in 2000 and demand further increased, to 4,500, last year.
Currently, 140 staff work in the Refugee Legal Service and it has opened offices in Cork and Galway to cope with the need. A panel of solicitors is contracted to offer services as well.
According to figures for 2000 released yesterday in the Legal Aid Board 2000 report, the Refugee Legal Service represented about 1,000 refugees and asylum seekers in deportation cases.
Rejecting criticisms from the Law Society, the Legal Aid Board said all those threatened with deportation have been offered legal aid since March 1999.
Meanwhile, the board, whose budget was increased in 2000 by 54 per cent, handled 18,000 cases of all types during the course of 2000.
Waiting periods have been cut, though the reduction has been gradual, said Ms Clare Connellan, who stepped down as the board's chairwoman last September.
By September 2000, the waiting period for a first appointment with a solicitor had been cut to three months in 14 of the Legal Aid Board's offices.
