19th October 2004

PRESS RELEASE

GREEN PARTY CALLS FOR RESIDENCY RIGHTS AS COURT RULES ON CHEN

The Green Party has called on the Irish Government to grant full residency rights to the families of those born in Ireland before a scheme that permitted residency was abolished on February 19th 2003.

The call comes in the light of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg’s ruling that Britain's refusal to allow a Chinese woman and her Belfast-born daughter to remain permanently is illegal under EU law. 

The scheme’s abolition came shortly after the Supreme Court's judgement of 23 January 2003 in the cases of L&O in which the Court confirmed that the Minister was entitled to deport the non-national parents of an Irish born child.

“Many families are living in limbo”, stated Green Party Justice Spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD today. “They deserve clarity on this issue. Some families have been waiting years for a decision and they deserve to have their cases fast-tracked. The Minister should now indicate that the families of those born before the scheme’s abolition should be allowed remain in Ireland.

“I am also calling on the Minister to clarify whether he has deported any families that had claimed residency under the scheme.

ENDS