Seanad Report: The Department of Justice is prepared to re-examine visa applications for two young Ghanaian boys, to enable them to come to Ireland to visit their seriously ill Irish-born sister, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Mr Callely, told Mr James Bannon (FG).
Urging that the Department review, on compassionate grounds, the decision to refuse visitor visas for the boys, aged nine and 13, Mr Bannon said they had applied through their mother, Mrs Agatha Agyeman, and her husband, both Irish citizens and living in Newtownforbes, Co Longford, to come to this country on visitor visas to see their sister Nina (3), who was terminally ill.
She suffered from a degenerative progressive brain disease, which was likely to be fatal.
Mr Bannon said the emotional state and well-being of the child's parents would be greatly helped by seeing their sons and having them meet their sister while she could still recognise them. "I cannot stress more strongly the extreme need for this family to be united for however short a time."
There were no grounds for thinking that the boys would not honour the terms of a visitor visa.
Responding on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Mr Callely said the case in question centred on the Ghanaian parents of an Irish-born child, who had been granted permission to reside in the State on that basis.
They had come to Ireland through the United Kingdom and had made asylum applications in December 2000. One month later they had a child born in Ireland and withdrew that claim. The child was now seriously ill and the prognosis was very poor. The parents had been granted residency on the basis of parentage of the child.
The visa applications submitted on behalf of the boys had not stated when they intended to end their visit here. It had only been stated that they would do so as soon as practicable. Consequently, the applications were treated as applications to reside permanently with the family in this country.
Given the unfortunate circumstances and Senator Bannon's offer to have additional information furnished, the Minister was prepared to instruct his staff to give consideration to the matter on the basis that it constituted an application for visitor visas.