Government plans to regularise the position of non-national parents of Irish-born children who are seeking residency in the State have been welcomed by immigrant support groups and children's rights campaigners.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, yesterday announced plans to allow an estimated 17,000 non-national parents make fresh applications to reside in the State permanently.
He said residency would be granted to those who could show they had been resident in Ireland since the birth of their child, had not been involved in criminal activity and were willing to commit themselves to becoming economically viable.
Applicants will be given the opportunity to work during a process which could take up to five years before it is fully completed. Details of the procedure will be published early in January, when new application forms will be available. They must be returned by the end of March 2005.
The Coalition Against the Deportation of Irish Children, which represents a range of support groups, said the proposals would end the "limbo status" of residency applicants. Ms Salome Mbugua said the lives of many families had been on hold for two years since a Supreme Court ruling in January 2003 which ruled that parents were not entitled to remain in the State on the basis of having an Irish-born child. "They have faced nothing but uncertainty and anxiety," she said, "and this will at least offer them some hope that this limbo will end soon."
Ms Sarah Benson of the Children's Rights Alliance hoped the proposals would comply with Ireland's international obligations. "The Government must ensure that the best interest of the children is at the heart of these proposals," she said. "The coalition has been calling for a child impact assessment to be part of the Government's proposals and this should now happen."
The National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism said the move would bring Ireland into line with other countries which had regularised the status of people without long-term residency rights.
The Immigration Control Platform, however, expressed outrage that the plans included children born since the Supreme Court ruling. "Nothing the Minister says can take from the fact that this is tantamount to an amnesty for illegals," said Ms Áine Ní Chonaill.
Mr McDowell said applicants should obtain necessary evidence of identity, including passports from their countries of origin and birth certificates. Those who had previously applied to remain on the basis of their Irish citizen child would be required to submit a new application, he said.