Leader of the Seanad Mary O'Rourke is to ask Minister for Justice Michael McDowell to reconsider the cases of at least four Nigerian children who have gone on the run following the issuing of deportation orders last week.
Meanwhile, a Fianna Fáil TD has also called on the Government to redraft the immigration rules, which he said were too harsh, and to consider an amnesty for asylum-seekers who have been in the country for a number of years.
Ms O'Rourke, a Fianna Fáil senator, said she had already made representations on the cases, most recently during a conversation with Mr McDowell in Leinster House on Thursday. She plans to make a written request to him early next week, outlining the cases in detail, and saying she would like them to be considered in a similar way to that of Olukunle Elukanlo, who is being allowed return from Lagos to sit his Leaving Certificate.
"Obviously I would like to see this happen, but Michael McDowell said that Olukunle was a one-off case," she said. "But I will be making a written case to him in favour of these children."
Two Nigerian mothers, Elizabeth Odunsi and Iyabo Nwanze, were among 35 people deported to Nigeria last week. Ms Nwanze's son, Emmanuel (8), and Ms Odunsi's children, Mabajoye (18), Oluwaseun (14), and Olwasegun (11), are all in hiding in the midlands to avoid deportation. The women had been rearing the children on their own and are now back in Lagos.
Ms O'Rourke was last night gathering details on complaints over the conduct of gardaí from the National Immigration Bureau when they called to Our Lady's Bower school to collect one of the children.
Kilkenny Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness also called on the Government to reform its asylum and immigration policy, raising the case of another deported Nigerian, Jasper Mordi, whom he knew and who had been living in Kilkenny for the past few years. "He rang me on the way to the airport in tears," said Mr McGuinness.
Calling for an amnesty for people who had been living in Ireland for a number of years, he said the current system was "horrific".
"The whole immigration system is a mess, and at the same time that the ESRI is saying we need 25,000 foreign workers, we are deporting families and people with skills and qualifications.
"I've nothing against Michael McDowell. Indeed, as a Government TD I can't say I'm blameless. There is now a collective responsibility on us. What's clear is that new legislation is needed."
Meanwhile, Monaghan Fianna Fáil councillors want Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to intervene in the case of a Nigerian family which was deported from Castleblayney.
Nkechi Okolie, with her sons, Ike (16), and Chukka (6), and her daughter, Chidinima (10), are reported to be living in fear and in hiding in Lagos following their deportation.