Irish children of migrant parents who face deportation could be in a position to sue the State in later years for failing to protect their rights, campaigners warned yesterday.
The Children's Rights Alliance says around 500 children - whose parents' applications to stay here under the Irish-born child initiative were rejected - could potentially be removed from the State.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, family law expert Geoffrey Shannon said these children were "invisible" from the decision-making process
Mr Shannon said the failure to consider children's needs could give rise to actions in future by deported Irish children whose rights may have been infringed.
The applications process failed to adhere to the core values of the Irish Constitution, in particular the article relating to the family, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, he said.
Chief executive of the Children's Rights Alliance, Jillian Van Turnhout, also urged the Government to adopt child impact assessments in relation to residency decisions affecting Irish children of migrant parents. "Currently decisions are being made on an arbitrary, ad-hoc basis and behind closed doors. The system we are proposing allows for greater transparency," she said.
"Child impact assessment is a fair, objective and organised way to make decisions about the fate of Irish children whose migrant parents have applied for leave to remain in Ireland."
The assessments, which are used in a number of European countries, are designed to measure the likely impact on a child in situations where they are deported with their parents.
The principles involved in the assessment involve issues such as the welfare of the child, the relative safety of the destination country, and levels of health and education standards. They are informed by human and children's rights instruments and practice in other countries.
Ms Turnhout called on Minister for Children Brian Lenihan to support this model and to include it in the consideration of children's cases. A spokesman for Mr Lenihan referred media queries to Minister for Justice Michael McDowell's office. The Department of Justice had not responded to queries by yesterday evening.
The estimated 500 children were born to migrant parents who sought residency on the basis of having an Irish-born child.