In an Irish High Court case X Adeoye v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform an Irish woman, her Nigerian husband and their daughter, who was born in Ireland, have been successful in their challenge to the husband's deportation order.
The order had been made while the wife was carrying their child. Hogan J held that this decision did not fully consider their family rights and was akin to a "permanent forcible separation of the family."
The central issue was the Constitutional protection of marriage and the Court held that the judiciary must extend the protection of that relationship so that the rights conferred "are taken seriously."
The decision taken by the Minister concluded that the wife could join her husband in Nigeria. However the Court held this to be "pure fiction" as "it was difficult to see how any average Irish family would ever contemplate moving to Nigeria."
Click here to view a piece by the Irish Times.
Click here to view the judgment in full.