Green Party Minister Eamon Ryan has personally intervened in the case of a six-year-old Nigerian autistic boy facing deportation from this country, by writing on his behalf to his Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan.
A spokeswoman for Mr Ryan, who is Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, confirmed that a letter was sent from his ministerial office to Mr Lenihan's office this week in relation to the case.
It is understood that Mr Ryan asked Mr Lenihan to review the deportation order against Great Agbonlahor and his family.
Mr Lenihan has previously indicated that he sees no basis for revoking the deportation orders.
Asked if there was a split between the Government coalition parties in relation to the case, the spokeswoman said this was not the case.
"It's a representation between one Minister and another, but the deciding Minister [in this case, Mr Lenihan] gets to decide," she said.
She added that it was not unusual for Cabinet colleagues to make representations to one another in relation to certain matters.
Separately, town councillors in Clonakilty, Co Cork, where the Agbonlahor family lived before moving to Killarney, have passed a motion calling on Mr Lenihan to allow a moratorium of two years on the deportation order. This would permit Great Agbonlahor to avail of "all possible treatment to help him and his family cope with his autism," the motion states.
According to local Sinn Féin councillor, Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin, the motion was passed unanimously at the council's monthly meeting on Tuesday, having been tabled by himself and a party colleague, Cllr Paul Hayes.
"We note that he has been receiving professional assistance for the condition over recent months, and experts say that he is responding very positively to this," the motion states.
"Clonakilty Town Council, which has previously passed a motion in support of the family, appeals to the Minister to make an exception in this case so that the child will be much better equipped to deal with his changed circumstances if subsequently deported."
Earlier this week, Great's mother, Olivia, revealed that neither the boy nor his twin sister, Melissa, have yet received inoculation shots.
This was despite last month's decision by the Department of Justice to grant the Nigerian family a four-week reprieve to allow them to receive vaccinations before returning to Nigeria.
Olivia Agbonlahor, who fears her son would be treated as an outcast in Nigeria, also said she has been given "no idea" of when any deportation might occur.
Supporters of the family also strongly criticised a decision to ask the family - who had been told to report to Garda National Immigration Bureau offices in Dublin on Tuesday - to instead sign on at the State-run Balseskin reception centre in Finglas.
They claimed this was an attempt to avoid the "media glare".
Speaking last night, Rosanna Flynn of Residents against Racism said the family could be deported as early as next Tuesday, when they are due to register with the Garda authorities.
She welcomed the intervention of Mr Ryan and Clonakilty Town Council.
"The time of deportation is never announced," she said. "We need Brian Lenihan to intervene urgently, to look at the case again. It is not going to open the floodgates, it's a once off case.
"We certainly appeal to people who support the family to e-mail or contact the Department of Justice or their local representative."