Reprieve expected for family facing deportation to Georgia

A challenge by a mother and her two Irish born daughters to orders for their deportation to the mother's native Georgia has been struck out on consent at the High Court.

While the case was struck out on Tuesday with no order, it is believed the deportation orders will be revoked.

The case concerns Lela Sivsivadze, who came to the State in 2003, and her children, Mariam (13) and Sofia (8).

Mr Justice Richard Humphreys indicated last month that he considered the deportation orders "disproportionate" for reasons including Ms Sivsivadze has been in the State for 15 years and her children, who have never been outside Ireland, are rooted here.

The judge, in a written judgment, indicated that he intended to find against the Minister for Justice if necessary but adjourned the matter to allow lawyers for the Minister consider what he had said.

Siobhán Stack SC, for the Minister, later secured a further adjournment so “certain options” could be put to the family. When the case returned to court on Tuesday, Mr Justice Humphreys agreed to strike out the proceedings on consent with no order.

Positive

The judge said, given the family was broken up seven years ago by a decision to deport Ms Sivsivadze’s husband, the children’s father, it would be positive for the Irish authorities to engage with their Georgian counterparts to establish his whereabouts.

Garry O’Halloran BL, for the family, thanked the judge for expressing those views.

Previously, in urging the judge to overturn the deportation orders, Mr O’Halloran argued the children’s rights had not been properly taken into account. The children have lived all their lives in Ireland and had never travelled outside the country, attend school here, speak Irish and know “almost nothing of Georgia”, he said.

The Minister’s decision last year to deport the family arising from lies told by the mother in her asylum application 15 years ago was “so disproportionate” in a democratic society it is “off the radar”, he said.

Those lies, the court heard, were to the effect that she was fleeing an abusive stepfather in Georgia who did not exist. She was actually coming to Ireland to seek work.

No home

Ms Sivsivadze disclosed the lies in earlier court proceedings unsuccessfully challenging the deportation in 2011 of her husband. She has said he has no home or employment in Georgia and she and the children had nowhere to live if deported.

Mr O’Halloran said the case was essentially about the rights of children to have their position considered independently of the conduct of their parents.

The older girl was very distressed arising from the deportation of her father and the family’s only contact with him is via Skype, he said.

Ms Stack, for the Minister, had argued Ms Sivsivadze previously secured permission to remain on humanitarian grounds and that could be revoked if false and misleading information was provided.

Ms Sivsivadze’s parents are alive and still living in Georgia, her husband is also there and there was no evidence to support the claims he is homeless and unemployed, she argued.