Only three families with Irish children deported since judgment

Only three families with Irish children have been deported in the year since the Supreme Court judgment that parents were not automatically entitled to residency on the basis of having an Irish-born child.

The ruling had immediate implications for up to 11,000 families with Irish children whose applications for residency were outstanding at the time of the judgment.

All are expecting a letter from the Department of Justice telling them of the State's intention to deport them, and giving them 15 working days to explain why they should be allowed stay.

However, just 358 such letters have been sent out. Some 171 families have responded with applications for humanitarian leave to remain, while 33 families have opted for "voluntary repatriation".

Figures obtained from the Department of Justice indicate that an extra 51 staff have been recruited to the Department's repatriation unit to process the proposed deportations after last January's judgment, and more are due in March.

The Department has set a target of one year to complete processing the 11,000 cases. An umbrella group of children's and refugee organisations, the Coalition Against the Deportation of Irish Children (CADIC) has called for the regularisation of this group of immigrants, although the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has insisted each case will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

With the processing of just over 350 in train, more than 10,500 families remain in what the Immigrant Council of Ireland has described as "legal limbo".

The Department said the processing of the cases was "labour-intensive", and that further staff would be recruited in March when necessary building refurbishment was completed.

A spokeswoman said it was not possible to state precisely when the process would be completed, or to assess how many families would opt for repatriation or seek to remain in Ireland.

Meanwhile, figures from the Department show there are 1,088 applications outstanding for family reunification by people recognised as refugees.

The Irish Refugee Council has said the Department must urgently address this backlog. Applications are taking up to 18 months to process. Ms Cabrini Gibbons, legal officer of the council, pointed out that these were families separated by "war and persecution".