Ireland to deport Zimbabwean mother and daughter who sought protection

The High Court in Ireland has dismissed a Zimbabwean mother and her daughter’s bid to overturn the Minister for Justice’s decision to deport them.

The mother and daughter are not named for legal reasons.

According to the newspapers in Ireland, the pair had sought international protection in Ireland after leaving Zimbabwe due to claims that the mother’s fiancée and sons had vanished after attending a political rally, and that she faced persecution on the grounds of gender if she returned home.

Both the International Protection Office (IPO) and the International Protection Appeal Tribunal (IPAT), however, rejected their applications, citing a lack of credibility and inconsistencies in their claims. The Minister for Justice subsequently issued deportation orders against the applicants.

The mother and daughter challenged the decision, arguing that the Minister had failed to properly consider information they submitted about Zimbabwe that supported their bid to remain in the State.

Justice Mary Rose Gearty, however, ruled that the deportation orders were issued in May 2023, but the applicants did not bring their High Court challenge until the following August, which was outside the 28-day time limit allowed.

The judge held that allowing a challenge to be brought outside the time limit would not be conducive to a fair and effective system of deportation. The applicants had not offered a reason for part of the delay, and the court was not prepared to grant them an extension of the time limit.

Justice Gearty found that the deportation orders were good on their face, and she was satisfied that the Minister had taken all relevant considerations into account before arriving at the decision to issue the orders.

The judge noted that the applicants had submitted information about political events in their home country, but it did not contain updated information on gender-based violence in Zimbabwe.

The Minister was entitled to conclude that the material was not relevant to the applicants’ circumstances.

The court refused the application to set aside the deportation orders and awarded costs in favour of the Minister.