A new law requiring the media to get the consent of the Minister for Justice to identify asylum-seekers does not apply across the EU, The Irish Times has established.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice claimed on Tuesday that the measure, part of the Refugee Act implemented on Monday, was a standard provision designed to protect asylum-seekers and was "common to all EU states".
The relevant ministries in four countries - Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany - contacted by The Irish Times yesterday all said this was not the case. Each said it was a matter for asylum-seekers to decide if their names should be published.
In this State, publications which fail to obtain the consent of the Minister for Justice as well as the asylum-seeker face fines of up to £1,500 or imprisonment or both. The measure has been condemned by the Irish Refugee Council and the National Union of Journalists as potential censorship.
The Department said last night The Irish Times could name a Nigerian woman living in Tramore, Co Waterford, who faces deportation with her two children, because she was not covered by the Act.
A rally is to be held in the town on Saturday in support of Ms Ebi Ojoh, whose application for asylum failed. She has now applied to be allowed to remain in Ireland on humanitarian grounds.
A Department spokesman said that the Act did not apply to asylum-seekers who, like Ms Ojoh, were publicly identified prior to its implementation. Nor did it apply to those who were still in the State but were no longer applicants for refugee status.
Officials in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden all said there were laws in those countries to protect the identities of asylum-seekers, but permission from any branch of the State was not required. "We never answer questions about an asylum-seeker's identity, but when he gives his name it is his own choice," said a spokeswoman for the Dutch Ministry of Justice.
In Germany, "you need the permission of the asylum-seeker but it has nothing to do with the ministry", said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Interior.
Ms Alison Tuohy, the chairwoman of the Tramore Pro-Refugee Group, which is organising Saturday's rally, said Ms Ojoh's appearance on television had had a "massive" effect on the campaign to prevent her deportation.
The rally has received the support of organisations across the community including the Waterford Council of Trade Unions, Waterford Youth Drama and Waterford United football club, which is to publicise details of the march at its home match against Home Farm Fingal tomorrow night.
The march begins at 2 p.m., opposite the Majestic Hotel, and Ms Tuohy said the intention was to create a carnival atmosphere. "It's a celebration that we've got this far," she said.
