The Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, is to bring a series of legislative changes to address a number of loopholes with regard to asylum law. One proposed measure will see An Garda Síochána being given the power to enter private dwellings to arrest and detain failed asylum seekers who have failed to comply with their deportation orders.
If an asylum seeker is deemed not to have any legal entitlement to stay in Ireland, the Minister for Justice may make a deportation order in respect of such a person. The individual is given the option to leave the State voluntarily when the orders are issued. The failure to leave the State on a voluntary basis can result in a forced deportation and it falls to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) to enforce the order. The Department of Justice has recently confirmed that about 15-20 per cent of issued deportation orders result in forced deportation from the State.
The new legislation is being prepared after the 2013 judgment of the High Court in the case of Omar v Governor of Cloverhill Prison. In the aforementioned case, the Court found that the Gardaí do not have the right to enter private dwellings to arrest failed asylum seekers for forced deportations. Specifically, it was held that the Gardaí entered the dwelling without a search warrant for the purposes of arresting the occupants in order to give effect to deportation orders. The entry into the dwelling became unlawful once the Gardaí exceeded their power to search the premises only, as was the de facto detention and arrest of the applicant and his family.
Further proposed measures by the Department for Justice will allow for the current eight-week detention period to be extended if fresh grounds are determined. The proposed legislation will also seek to clarify that the Minister for Justice and Equality has the power to deport a person from prison and to allow for detention at ports and airports pending deportation or removal.
Click here to read the judgment in Omar v Governor of Cloverhill Prison.