Many failed asylum-seekers with Irish-born children are facing deportation following a major shift in policy by the Department of Justice.
For the first time, the authorities are attempting to deport asylum-seekers with children born here in cases where the parents' application is refused and they have not spent "an appreciable length of time" in the State.
Human rights lawyers say the move has huge constitutional implications for the rights of the families involved, in particular the Irish-born children. The Department has not said how it intends to care for a child born here if the rest of his or her family is deported.
Up to now, the authorities have given residency to non-nationals who have children born here. Such children automatically become Irish citizens by virtue of being born in the State. Policy was governed by a 1989 Supreme Court case, which gave a child the right to the "company" of its non-national parents and siblings.
However, the number of asylum-seekers applying to remain here on this parentage rule has soared in the past year. By the end of October, 4,500 such applications had been lodged this year, representing one-third of all asylum claims. With Ireland being the only EU member to grant citizenship automatically to children born in the State, the Department believes many failed asylum-seekers are using this loophole to stay in the country. It also believes some women are coming here specifically to have children.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, last month said Ireland's unusual legal position was "well known abroad".
"A significant proportion" of female asylum-seekers were pregnant upon arrival here and their decision to seek asylum was partly motivated by the benefits they could obtain through having a child in Ireland, he said.
The issue is the subject of a number of test cases before the High Court. In two of these, the Department is arguing that the fact asylum-seekers were now the parents of Irish-born children did not give them automatic entitlement to the company of their children.
In both cases, the parents were refused leave to apply for asylum under the Dublin Convention because they had already made applications in the UK. The Department wants to remove both families to Britain.
The Department's move is part of a gradual clampdown on the rights to citizenship. Under recent legislative changes, refugees must wait longer before being entitled to apply to become Irish citizens, and the granting of citizenship to non-nationals married to Irish citizens is now at the discretion of the Minister.
Almost 2,500 applications to remain in Ireland on the parentage rule have been approved so far this year. The overall number of asylum applications has stabilised. There were 7,724 applications in 1999, 10,938 in 2000, and 8,461 in the first nine months of this year.
