Members of the Roma community camped at a roundabout near Dublin's M50 motorway are to begin High Court proceedings in the coming days seeking to revoke orders to deport them, legal sources said yesterday.
Some members of the community will also seek an order in the court compelling health authorities to provide children among the group with support and emergency accommodation.
Sara Russell, Pavee Point's Roma coordinator, said the move came after a solicitor approached Pavee Point volunteering to take up their case. Legal experts who met some of the families worked over the weekend on their cases and are expected to launch proceedings early this week.
Any proceedings are likely to be taken on behalf of a small number of the group camped at the roundabout due to the short time frame available.
Members of the Garda's National Immigration Bureau visited the M50 encampment on Saturday, and a derelict house on the Old Swords Road, and served a total of 86 people with removal orders. They have 15 days to appeal the orders.
Ms Russell said the families were "very distressed" following the Garda visit. "A lot of them didn't understand why these papers have been issued," she said. George Dancea, director of the Roma Support Group, said the families were concerned about what might happen if they were deported back to Romania.
"There has been so much publicity about their case up to now that many are worried they could face some kind of backlash in Romania if they have to go back," he said.
While Romanian citizens are free to travel here without a visa since the country joined the EU in January, their rights are limited under legislation introduced by the Government.
Romanian - and Bulgarian - citizens are entitled to stay for longer than three months only if they are employed or self-employed or students, or have sufficient resources to support themselves and have health insurance cover. The Roma group has no visible means of support and are not entitled to social assistance due to welfare restrictions on non-residents. They are also restricted from working unless they hold a visa or are self-employed.