A 19-year-old Nigerian Leaving Cert student is to be allowed return to Ireland on a temporary student visa to sit his exams.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said in a statement this morning he had decided to revoke the deportation order on Olunkunle Elukanlo after "careful consideration".
Mr McDowell bowed to mounting pressure from, among others, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, who said yesterday it was "hard to understand" why the deportation of Mr Elukanlo could not have been postponed "for a few weeks" until he had completed his exams.
In the statement Mr McDowell said he had been reflecting overnight on the issue. "I have therefore decided to revoke the order in his case and to arrange for a temporary visa for six months to be issued to Kunle. This is an exceptional measure given the circumstances of this case."
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), to which Ireland is affiliated and which has a local office in Nigeria, has been asked to make the necessary arrangements for the youth through the Irish embassy in Abuja.
Delighted students of Palmerstown community college, where Mr Elukanlo had been studying for his Leaving Certificate, gathered at the school this morning for a noisy celebration after hearing the news on the radio.
"We're all just jumping around here - everyone is so excited," said Mr Neil Burke, one of the students who organised a protest outside the Dáil yesterday in association with Residents Against Racism.
Mr Burke said he had been in contact with Mr Elukanlo who was extremely happy with the news and expected to be back in Ireland in the next two to three days.
Anthony Wilkie, assistant principal of Palmerstown Community School, said he was looking forward to seeing Mr Elukanlo but added that he hoped the student had done his homework.
"This chap was devastated with the chance of not doing his (exams) . . . it's fantastic," he said. "We've moved a mountain."
Mr Elukanlo thanked his supporters. "I was very, very, very surprised . . . I'm just full of joy," he told RTÉ this morning. "I couldn't believe that people could stand up for me like that."
Dr Martin welcomed this morning's decision and called for a debate on Ireland's immigration policy.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform said the Minister and officials had contacted the Irish Embassy in Nigeria this morning, which in turn had contacted Mr Elukanlo to inform him of the news.
He said the State will be covering the costs of Mr Elukanlo's return although he does not have a timeframe for when that might happen.
Opposition parties and the Teachers' Union of Ireland called yesterday on Mr McDowell to allow Mr Elukanlo to return. About 300 supporters of Mr Elukanlo and other Nigerians who were deported last week demonstrated outside the Dáil at lunchtime yesterday.
Speaking in Kilkenny on Sunday, Mr McDowell defended the decision to deport Mr Elukanlo. "Just because you're young doesn't mean you aren't deported. An Irish person going to America in similar circumstances would be back on the next plane and would never see the inside of an American school," he said.