Plans to help non-Irish parents return home
The move is one of three initiatives announced yesterday by Justice Minister Michael McDowell. The initiatives aim to facilitate the departure from the State of the parents of Irish-born children who have applied for residency here.
The other aspects of the initiative include free travel arrangements for those who apply before the end of January 2004 and a dedicated programme to assist unaccompanied minors.
The Department of Justice is hoping the voluntary return of irregular immigrants and failed asylum seekers will reduce the cost and difficulty of enforced deportations. This year 484 people have been deported while 661 agreed to return voluntarily.
The fate of 11,000 families who applied to remain here after having Irish children remains in question following a landmark Supreme Court ruling earlier this year which found parentage of Irish-born children was not sufficient grounds for residency.
More than 1,000 deportation orders have already been issued to such families and Mr McDowell has indicated a dedicated team is to be put in place in January to process the remainder of cases.
The measures will be overseen and carried out by an independent agency, the International Organisation on Migration (IOM), which has been operating here since 2001.
Announcing the voluntary returns programme, which is also open to failed asylum seekers, Mr McDowell said a IOM pilot programme had already helped 500 people return voluntarily to their countries of origin in the past two years.
However, the Department of Justice said it could not provide figures for the cost of the initiatives as that would depend on how many people choose to avail of the service.
Mr McDowell said the unaccompanied minors programme recognised a vulnerable group requiring special care. Because of this the project takes into account the wishes of the child and parents, as well as involving consultations, where required, with relevant statutory bodies.
IOM’s Dublin chief Diane Grammer said the agency had previous experience dealing with the repatriation of minors.
“Voluntary return and re-integration programmes offer a safe and dignified option for migrants, providing freedom of choice based on an informed decision,” she said.
