Moves to regularise the position of up to 17,000 non-national parents of Irish-born children within the next few weeks have been announced by the Minister for Justice this evening.
Mr Michael McDowell
It was announced last month that the Government would regularise the status those non-nationals affected by a Supreme Court ruling which effectively said they had no automatic right to stay in the country, despite having children who were Irish citizens.
After the minister signalled his intentions last month immigrant support groups widely welcomed the new arrangements, which will allow successful applicants to work in the State.
Non-nationals who have children born here before January 1 st2005 will now be required to fill in an application form for permission to stay in the State. The new application form and an explanatory leaflet will be placed on the Department of Justice website tonight. The forms must be returned by the end of March.
The application form requires applicants to provide personal details, immigration history, other identities used in the State and details of their Irish born children.
It also includes a statutory declaration to the effect that, if granted permission to remain, the applicant will not engage in criminal activity and will make "every effort to become economically viable, and accept that there is no entitlement to family reunification".
Mr McDowell said each application would be considered on its merits and would be subject to "rigorous examination". Applications will also be processed in the order in which they are received, he said.
"Persons of good character who give honest and complete details of their residence in Ireland with their Irish born children and make the necessary statutory declaration can expect to be granted permission to remain within a matter of weeks," the minister said.
However he warned that persons who have not been normally resident in the State with their child should not expect to be granted residence.
Mr McDowell also said that those granted permission to remain will not be allowed to bring family members from abroad to join them in Ireland.
Paper copies of the new application forms will not, be available until January 21st. They will be available from the department's office at 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2 and from Garda District Headquarters stations outside the Dublin area.
They will also be available at accommodation centres of the Reception and Integration Agency as well as from a range of non-governmental organisations. An information notice will be published in the national press tomorrow.
Applicants who are granted permission to remain will be allowed to remain for an initial period of two years. They will be permitted to work here, a move for which immigrant rights groups have been pushing for many years.
The renewal of permission to reside here for a further three years will be subject to the individual concerned being "economically viable", the minister said.