PEOPLE SERVED WITH a deportation order can no longer return to Ireland once deported as part of wide-ranging legislative amendments that have come into effect.
The residency requirement for children born in Ireland, who are of a different nationality, to apply for citizenship has also been reduced from five years to three years.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee has commenced the majority of the provisions of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023.
The Act contains amendments to matters including Irish nationality and citizenship, court offices, bankruptcy, international protection, data protection, immigration and legal services.
People convicted of serious offences, or where they are a threat to the security of the state, can now be served with a deportation order without the option of leaving voluntarily, which will also have the effect of preventing their return.
Speaking on this change, Minister McEntee said: “This means they cannot evade deportation from the State and cannot return to the State once deported.
“This is an important change that will strengthen the role of our immigration legislation in relation to public safety.”
The legislation also amends the Immigration Act 1999 to allow immigration authorities to serve documents electronically.
The Department of Justice said this will allow for people to be contacted about their immigration decisions by email or through a customer portal.
A Department spokesperson said: “There have been many examples where people have changed their address and may not have notified the Department, making them hard to reach by post.
“This change will enable the Department to send important notices, including deportation orders, even when a person may have moved.”
The Department added that the changes will also support “ongoing modernisation of the immigration service delivery”, including the introduction of a digital customer portal that will be rolled out over the coming years.
Minister McEntee said it is “important that our immigration system is fair, balanced and rules-based”.
“Where a person has a right to international protection it is important that that person can be granted international protection as quickly as possible,” said McEntee.
“However, when a person’s immigration application has been denied, and where their avenues of appeal have been exhausted, it is important that the person is returned to their home country as quickly as possible.
“The amendments to the International Protection Act will reduce administrative burdens and improve the digital services available to customers.
“If for example, a person has changed address but not notified the Immigration Service, we will be able to issue that immigration decision by email.”
As part of the changes, children born in Ireland to parents of a different nationality can now apply for citizenship after three years, as opposed to five.
Since the Citizenship referendum, children born to non-Irish residents in the State have an automatic right to Irish citizenship only if one of their parents is an Irish citizen or is entitled to be one.
Minster McEntee said “the reduction to three years will provide comfort and certainty to children and their families and enable our young citizens to flourish and fully participate in Irish life”.
Elsewhere, the Act introduces a number of changes with the aim of “increasing efficiencies in the Courts Service”.
One such change is the establishment of a centralised office within the Courts Service to administer the summoning of juries.
“This will be complemented by the Court Service’s ongoing rollout of its modernisation programme, including their online customer portal which allow people to respond to their jury summonses online rather than by post,” said a Department spokesperson.
Meanwhile, amendments to the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 will pave the way for the introduction of partnerships between solicitors and barristers, or between barristers and other barristers.
The Department described this as a “key development in the modernisation of how legal services can be provided to consumers, private or enterprise, on a more competitive basis”.
“Barristers and solicitors will be able to jointly provide legal services for the first time, increasing the range of services and expertise available to their clients,” said the Department.
Minister McEntee said these amendments “across a range of civil areas will simplify and improve the legal processes as people go through what are often personally challenging and stressful situations”.
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