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.

“I would not like to pre-empt any decision the President might make regarding this bill, but I have no doubt that in the context of her powers under Article 26 of the Constitution and with regard for Article 15.2.1, she will scrutinise not only the content of this bill, but also the circumstances surrounding its passing,” she said.

Although a spokeswoman for Mrs McAleese said the President’s role limited her to the constitutionality of a bill passed to her from the Oireachtas, Ms Terry argued forcing a bill through was against the spirit of the Constitution.

The bill was rushed through after the High Court ruled sections of its immigration legislation were unconstitutional.

The most contentious aspect of the bill revolved around provisions to allow immigration officers refuse entry to someone deemed to be disabled.