Irish embassies and consulates have been told to put up notices aimed at discouraging applications for residency in the State by non-EU immigrant parents of Irish-born children.
The move follows last January's Supreme Court ruling that non-EU immigrants did not have a right to reside in Ireland solely because they were parents of Irish citizen children.
The Department of Justice has asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to display translated notices prominently in the public offices of every embassy which state that no such residency applications are being accepted.
It had been the practice up until the Supreme Court ruling to grant residency rights to immigrants who parented a baby born in Ireland, even if they otherwise faced deportation.
However, the majority of these claims were made by people who had initially sought asylum in the State, leading to concerns that the refugee system was being abused.
A spokesman for the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, confirmed the move yesterday and said the Minister wanted maximum publicity for the implications of the Supreme Court judgement.
"It's crucial that we get the information out. It was getting to the stage that there were more applications from people seeking the right to reside here on the basis of having an Irish-born child than people seeking asylum. Hospitals have also been expressing concern about the problems this has been causing."
The number of people seeking asylum has dropped slightly since the Supreme Court ruling, with around 900 applications a month compared to the previous average of over 1,000 a month.
The ruling means almost 11,000 people, whose applications are outstanding, could face deportation.Mr McDowell has ruled out any mass deportations and has said each case is likely to be considered on an individual basis.
The Minister has also indicated that the length of time the parents of Irish citizen children have been residing in the State would be a key factor in considering residency applications.
A Government decision on how it will respond to the ruling has yet to be taken, however, a spokesman said. Mr McDowell will bring a memorandum to Cabinet on the subject shortly.
An information leaflet and application form for Irish-born child applications has already been withdrawn.
However, where the Minister proposes to deport a person who is the parent of an Irish-born child, they will be given an opportunity to appeal the decision on humanitarian grounds. These grounds include parentage of an Irish-born child.
Refugee and human rights organisations have expressed concern at how the Government will respond to the court ruling.
