The parents of two Romanian teenagers claim their children were refused entry to the State and subsequently deported by immigration gardaí yesterday, despite their efforts to contact them.
The family claims the children, a 16-year-old boy and a girl aged 15, had intended to seek asylum in Ireland and were travelling on false Moldovan passports. They say they were held by immigration gardaí in Cork since last Monday, after arriving on a flight from Paris, and sent back to France yesterday.
In response to detailed inquiries about the case yesterday, a Garda spokesman said he could only confirm that five people were refused leave to land at Cork airport last Monday.
The Irish Refugee Council has expressed concern recently that asylum-seekers are being refused entry into Dublin and Cork airports by immigration offices.
A person seeking refugee status is automatically entitled to remain in the State until their claim is processed. An asylum-seeker may, however, be detained under the Refugee Act (1996) on a number of grounds, such as possession of forged documents.
The family's solicitor, Ms Aisling Ryan, said she made repeated efforts to contact immigration gardaí in Cork by fax and telephone on Tuesday, but received no reply. The children's father, Mr Constantin Carpaci, claims he waited at the airport for six hours to meet them off their flight.
According to a family friend, Mr Carpaci made repeated unsuccessful efforts to contact immigration officials at the airport. He also says he saw his son, Marius, disembark from the aircraft while he waited in the airport cafe. Mr Carpaci claimed his daughter, Costinella, has a heart condition. He said he spoke to his son by telephone while he was being held by gardaí in Cork.
Mr Carpaci and his wife have lived in Ireland for several years and are seeking residency on the basis of being parents of a child born in Ireland.