The High Court has granted a stay on the deportation of a Nigerian woman and her three children, two of whom have serious intellectual difficulties. The stay applies pending a decision on their application for leave for judicial review of to the deportation orders.
Mr Justice Gerard Hogan said the family should not be disadvantaged” by the fact their application “has yet to be determined.”
In proceedings against the Minister for Justice, the family have challenged a decision made on behalf of the minister on August 18th last to deport them, after their application for asylum was rejected.
The stay application arose because while the Minister undertook the family would not be deported before the first return date for the case - October 3rd - he declined to give an undertaking beyond that.
The mother came to Ireland in 2004. She had a relationship with a man here and had three children here who are not Irish citizens. One child has been diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum while another has serious speech and language difficulties.
Last September, the family sought permission to bring a judicial review aimed at quashing the deportation orders. That leave application has yet to be heard.
When the State declined to extend beyond October 3rd its undertaking not to deport them, they sought an injunction preventing their deportation until their challenge is decided. Lawyers for the minister opposed the injunction application arguing the family’s challenge was doomed to fail.
Mr Justice Hogan today said he would grant the family a stay on the deportation orders until the full hearing of their challenge has been determined.
Referring to reports before the court, he said the information was, while treatment for children with autism is available in Nigeria, only a tiny majority could access such treatment in Nigeria.
A report on the children in this case stated the boy with autism “reacts very badly” to changes in his routine or environment while his brother with speech and language difficulties “reacts very seriously” to new situations as they cause him distress, upset and emotional trauma.
The children’s mother has “striven valiantly, along with social services to provide the best case for her children”, he added.
While there were “profound humanitarian considerations” in this case, the mere fact that medical and healthcare resources in another country were significantly worse than here did not in itself merit judicial intervention, he said.
However, there was a requirement in law that all matters be fairly examined before any deportation order is made. At this juncture, it could not be said the family’s case was “unsustainable in law”, he said, and he would grant a stay.
