LAWYERS for an Algerian man deported earlier this week are considering court action to force the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, to grant him a visa to reenter Ireland.
Mr Madani Haouanoh, who is married to an Irish woman, was deported on Tuesday morning an hour before the High Court granted a temporary injunction staying the deportation order.
Mr Haouanoh, of Rowan Hall, Milltown, Dublin, was accompanied to Heathrow Airport by two Irish immigration officials for an afternoon connecting flight to Algeria.
His solicitor, Mr Dermot Coyne, said he informed the Department of Justice about the court order before his client was put on the connecting flight. Mr Haouanoh was at that time outside the Irish jurisdiction.
Mr Haouanoh's family did not know that he had got on the flight until he phoned from Algeria yesterday morning, according to his brother who lives in Dublin.
He said Mr Haouanoh told him he had arrived safely in Algeria and had spent the night with friends before travelling to his parents' home 120 miles from Algiers airport.
Mr Coyne said yesterday he was considering taking committal proceedings against Mrs Owen for alleged failure to comply with Tuesday's temporary High Court order. He hoped this action would result in the Department of Justice granting Mr Haouanoh a visa to return to Ireland.
Mr Haouanoh, who has lived in Ireland for five years, was detained at Dublin Airport on Saturday evening after returning from France because he did not have the necessary re entry permit. It is understood that he also did not have a valid work permit.
Mr Coyne told the High Court his client arrived in Ireland in January 1991, on a student visa. He renewed his visa on an annual basis until 1995. He married Ms Alice Sheppard in 1993.
Mr Coyne said his client had flown to France many times to visit relatives and was granted a re entry permit each time. In summer 1996, he was issued with a new Algerian passport.
Ms Sheppard said last night she was confident that her husband would be back in Ireland soon. "I think the whole thing is stupid. It's really silly and I'm sure he will be back here and life will go on as usual."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said it was not policy to comment on individual cases.