A decision by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell to issue a six-month visa to a Nigerian student who was deported last week was the correct response to a deplorable situation.
It took some time and growing public pressure, not least from Olunkunle Eluhanla's fellow pupils at Palmerstown Community School in Dublin, for the Minister to accept a mistake had been made. But, to his credit, Mr McDowell swallowed hard and changed his mind. Mr Eluhanla will now be able to sit his exams in June and avail of an educational opportunity that had been snatched away.
This deportation case is one of a number that has caused serious concern and upset within communities where Nigerians live. In the Midlands, two mothers were deported, leaving young children behind. And, in Co Monaghan, parents and teachers protested at a local school yesterday after a mother and her three children were repatriated. Responses like that should act as a wake-up call to a Government that has secured 1,200 deportation orders against illegal immigrants, but only acted upon 77 of them so far.
Of the 35 Nigerians deported last week, 13 of them had been in the State for four years or more. And that is at the heart of the current difficulties. Where people have worked hard and integrated well into a community, they receive local support and their deportation is perceived to be unfair. The Minister for Justice has recognised the importance of maintaining public confidence in the deportation system. That is why he reversed the decision in relation to Mr Eluhanla. But he insisted this was a once-off exception, in spite of pressure from opposition TDs to conduct a review of deportation arrangements.
The Minister is absolutely correct in his assertion that every country must have a functioning deportation system in order to deal with illegal immigration. But that system should be flexible and humane, with a capacity to respond to special circumstances and to deal in an enlightened fashion with complex situations. It is less than 20 years since large numbers of young people from this State were glad to avail of Morrison visas. And, only last week, the Taoiseach asked President Bush to make special provision for illegal Irish emigrants in the US.
The number of people seeking asylum here has fallen sharply in recent years. Laws have been changed and regulations tightened up. Nigerians are now turned away at ports and airports because that country is regarded as a "safe place". But there are problems involving the backlog of cases from earlier years. Such cases must be treated with sensitivity and compassion.