The Minister for Justice has said he would give full consideration to a recent request by a family of failed asylum-seekers from Kosovo for his consent to have their case to remain here as refugees re-examined.
Lawyers for the family, who have gone into hiding in Dublin in a bid to evade deportation, had recently written afresh to the Mr McDowell asking him to reconsider their refugee claim in the light of new evidence of persecution.
To be granted permission to live in Ireland permanently as a refugee, applicants must show that they are fleeing persecution.
Ms Florinda Sylaj (36), a Catholic widow, claims she was "subjected to a sustained and savage campaign of mistreatment, including regular beatings and violence against her" by her late Muslim husband's family, which left her with scars.
She claims that she and her two young daughters Eni (5), and Eda (4), were effectively imprisoned by her in-laws, but that she was not able to disclose this information while her refugee claim was being processed.
In response to a Dáil question this week, Mr McDowell said the family's legal representatives had requested his "consent to make a further application for refugee status on foot of new information available. I will give full consideration to this request."
Mr McDowell also rejected a claim by supporters of the family that the two daughters had been interviewed by immigration gardaí for two hours alone in a room in their home earlier this month. The Minister said the children were alone with two female plain clothes gardaí for less than 30 minutes in total. He said Ms Sylaj was not present in the house at that time, nor contactable.