President ‘must scrutinise Immigration Bill’

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese must scrutinise the way in which the controversial Immigration Bill was forced through the Dáil, opposition parties said last night.

The bill, which was passed yesterday, will be forwarded to the President, who will examine it before either signing it into law or referring it to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality.

Fine Gael Seanad spokewoman on justice Senator Sheila Terry said the manner in which the bill was dealt with could make it vulnerable to a constitutional challenge under Article 15.2.1 of the Constitution.