Almost 17,000 foreign nationals have been given permission to remain in the State under a Government residency scheme on the basis of having an Irish-born child, new figures show.
However, 1,119 people - or just over 6 per cent of total applicants - had their applications rejected for a variety of reasons such as not being continually resident here or because there were judged not to be of "good character", according to the Department of Justice. Many of these people could face deportation from the State.
The main nationalities granted residency were Nigerians (6,145), Romanians (1,795), Chinese (1,074), Filipinos (993) and Pakistanis (613).
The main nationalities refused followed a similar pattern, including Nigerians (554), Romanians (94), Chinese (63), Pakistanis (40), and Filipinos (22).
The residency scheme - known as the Irish-born child (IBC) scheme - was established because the legal status of thousands of non-Irish nationals who had sought residency on the basis of having an Irish-born child was in doubt following a Supreme Court ruling in February 2003.
This held that foreign national parents of Irish children had no automatic right to remain here.
The IBC scheme established by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell allowed these parents to submit fresh applications for leave to remain if they had an Irish-born child before January 1st, 2005.
Mr McDowell said the terms and conditions of this scheme, now completed, were "very reasonable", as applicants were only required to prove their identity and show they had been continuously resident in the State since the birth of their Irish-born child.
Unsuccessful applications were rejected for a variety of reasons, mainly because the continuous residency requirement had not been met or the persons in question had not met the "good character" criteria.
Successful applicants have been granted permission to remain in the State for a period of two years, which may be renewed.
In common with others legally resident here for five years, successful applicants will be entitled to apply for Irish citizenship or naturalisation.
While the scheme has been broadly welcomed by support groups for immigrants and asylum seekers, there has been criticism over aspects of it such as the lack of a provision for family reunification.
Groups such as the Children's Rights Alliance have also expressed concern at the fate of Irish-born children who may face deportation as a result of their parents' failed applications.
The group estimates that as many as 500 Irish-born children could now face deportation. They have called on the Minister to introduce child impact assessments prior to any deportation.
A spokesman for Mr McDowell, however, said existing laws and guidelines in the area meant the welfare of a child was always taken into account in deciding on deportation cases.
Overall, a total of 17,917 applications were received and processed through the IBC scheme. All applications have been processed, but decisions remain in a small number of cases where documentation from the Garda National Immigration Bureau is outstanding, according to the department's spokesman.
Despite figures showing that no more than 6 per cent of applicants were unsuccessful, the Minister has rejected suggestions the application scheme was an amnesty. He has stated that each application was dealt with on its own merits and had to satisfy a number of criteria.
