A marriage bar on asylum seekers and some categories of foreign nationals under proposals for new immigration legislation would deny a basic human right not just to asylum seekers but to all those wishing to marry here, a public talk in Co Kerry has heard.
Under the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, 2006, foreign nationals from outside the EU or European Economic Area without a permanent residence permit would be forbidden to marry each other or Irish and EU citizens.
Under the new legislation these foreign nationals must first notify the Minister for Justice of their intention to marry, Piaras Mac Éinrí, UCC lecturer and director of the Irish Centre for Migration Studies at the college, said in Killarney.
Although marriages of convenience might need to be tackled, the proposal for a "marriage bar" in which asylum seekers and holders of non-renewable permits may not marry was disproportionate, he warned.
"There are marriages of convenience, but a marriage bar goes too far. This doesn't just affect migrants' rights - it affects everybody's right to marry," Mr Mac Éinrí said.
Although such a provision existed in a small number of other countries, it was not in tune with human rights, he added.
It was one of a number of worrying aspects in the proposals for a Bill which would also criminalise anybody seen to be frustrating deportation attempts.
"If someone is going to be deported, if you frustrate that you will be guilty of a criminal offence and be arrested without warrant," Mr Mac Éinrí told migrants and others at the meeting organised by Kasi, the Killarney Asylum Seekers and Migrants Initiative support organisation.
The length of the relationship as well as the length of time between the marriage proposal and date of marriage would be among the criteria the Minister would take into account in deciding whether to give permission for a foreign national to marry here.
The proposals might also result in priests or others who solemnise marriages of convenience being found guilty of an offence.
According to the Department of Justice, marriages of convenience are "increasingly being availed of to avoid removal from the State". The scheme provides a mechanism intended to combat such marriages of convenience.
Marilyn Counihan, co-ordinator of Kasi, said the proposed bar was an extremely worrying development and should be resisted. It was "shocking" and went against basic human rights.