A Czech family who had made an eleventh-hour legal bid to stop their deportation, which was due to have taken place on Thursday, have "disappeared", the High Court was told yesterday.
Gardaí are now searching for the family, who had got a temporary injunction late on Wednesday night to prevent their deportation. The injunction expired at 11 a.m. yesterday when the case was scheduled to come before the court again.
Members of the Lobe family were at the centre of a landmark Supreme Court finding in January that non-national parents of Irish-born children are not entitled to remain here by virtue of their children's birth in this country.
David Lobe and his wife, Jan,have an Irish-born child, 17-month-old Kevin, and three other children. All members of the family except Kevin had been served with deportation orders.
Lawyers for the family sought Wednesday night's injunction pending an application to the European Court of Human Rights arising from their unsuccessful Supreme Court challenge to the deportation orders.
Yesterday, counsel for the family told Mr Justice Gilligan that the application to the European Court for a stay on the deportation orders had been declined on Thursday. Mr Bill Shipsey SC added that his solicitor had no further instructions from his clients to withdraw or proceed with the High Court proceedings. It did appear that events had overtaken matters in the proceedings.
The Lobes live at Ballineen, near Bandon, Co Cork.
Mr Paul Gallagher SC, for the State, said that the Lobes had disappeared and had not complied with the legal requirements of reporting to the gardaí.
Counsel for the Lobes said he was not aware of any breach or alleged breach.
It was learned later that the father had reported to the local Garda station at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, but that the mother and the children who had been served with deportation orders had not.
The European Court application was also made on behalf of a Nigerian man, Andrew Osayande, who was also involved in the Supreme Court proceedings and who had also obtained an injunction late on Wednesday. He is being detained in Clover Hill Prison, Dublin.
Before the deportations of the Lobes and Mr Osayande take place, the Irish authorities will have to give two days' notice to the British authorities. They would be deported to Britain because they had been there before coming to Ireland.