1.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1935” means the Aliens Act 1935;

“carrier”, in relation to a vehicle, means—

(a) the owner of the vehicle, or

(b) in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle, ship or boat, the person in charge of the vehicle;

“immigration officer” means an immigration officer appointed under the Aliens Order 1946 (S.R. & O., No. 395 of 1946);

“Irish transit visa” means an endorsement made on a passport or travel document other than an Irish passport or Irish travel document for the purposes of indicating that the holder thereof is authorised to arrive at a port in the State for purposes of passing through the port in order to travel to another state subject to any other conditions of arrival being fulfilled;

“Irish visa” means an endorsement made on a passport or travel document other than an Irish passport or Irish travel document for the purposes of indicating that the holder thereof is authorised to land in the State subject to any other conditions of landing being fulfilled;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;

“non-national” has the meaning assigned to it by the Immigration Act 1999;

“owner”, in relation to a vehicle, includes any part owner, charterer, manager or operator of the vehicle;

“port” includes any place whether on a land or sea frontier where a person lands in or embarks from the State;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

“vehicle” includes any ship, boat, railway train, aircraft or mechanically propelled vehicle within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act 1961.

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to any enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act,

(b) a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(c) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

2.—(1) Where a vehicle arrives in the State from a place other than Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Isles or the Isle of Man the carrier concerned shall ensure—

(a) that all persons on board the vehicle seeking to land in the State or to pass through a port in the State in order to travel to another state disembark in compliance with any directions given by immigration officers,

(b) that all persons on board the vehicle seeking to land in the State are presented to an immigration officer for examination in respect of leave to land,

(c) that each non-national on board the vehicle seeking to land in the State or to pass through a port in the State in order to travel to another state has with him or her a valid passport or other equivalent document which establishes his or her identity and nationality and, if required by law, a valid Irish transit visa or a valid Irish visa.

(2) A person who contravenes paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and, where a contravention by the person relates to more than one non-national, each such contravention shall constitute a separate offence.

(3) Where a vehicle arrives in the State from a place outside the State the carrier concerned shall, if so requested by an immigration officer, furnish him or her with—

(a) a list specifying the name and nationality of each person carried on board the vehicle in such form, and containing such other information relating to the identity of the person, as may be prescribed,

(b) details of the members of the crew of the vehicle.

(4) A person who contravenes paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence.

(5) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to show that he or she took all such steps as were reasonably open to him or her to ensure compliance with the provision of this Act.

(6) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section consisting of a contravention of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) to show—

(a) that the non-national concerned had with him or her the relevant document before embarking on the vehicle concerned, or

(b) that he or she did not know and had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the document was invalid.

(7) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a F1[class A fine].

(8) The Minister may from time to time draw up and publish guidelines concerning steps to be taken by carriers to ensure compliance by them with this Act.

(9) This section is without prejudice to the provisions of sections 8, 9 and 24 of the Refugee Act 1996 and to the discretion of the Minister to admit to the State a person whom the Minister considers to be in need of the protection of the State.

3.—(1) Where an immigration officer has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence under section 2 is being or has been committed by a person he or she shall serve, or cause to be served, personally or by post, on the person a notice in the prescribed form or in a form to the like effect stating—

(a) that the person is alleged to have committed the offence,

(b) that the person may, during the period of 28 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to a member of the Garda Síochána or an authorised person at a Garda Síochána station or at another place specified in the notice a payment of F2[€2,500] accompanied by the notice,

(c) that a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is being made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.

(2) Where a notice is served under subsection (1)—

(a) a person to whom the notice applies may, during the period specified in the notice, make to a member of the Garda Síochána or an authorised person at a Garda Síochána station or at another place specified in the notice the payment specified in the notice, accompanied by the notice,

(b) the member or the authorised person may receive the payment and issue a receipt for it and the money so received shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs and no payment so received shall in any circumstances be recoverable by the person who made it,

(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted.

(3) In a prosecution for an offence under section 2, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the accused person, that a payment pursuant to a notice under this section accompanied by the notice has not been made.

(4) In this section “authorised person” means a person appointed by the Minister to be an authorised person for the purposes of this section.

4.—The Aliens Act 1935 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 7:

5.—(1) Subject to F3[section 3A of the Immigration Act 1999] and section 4 of the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act 2000, this section applies to—

(a) a non-national to whom leave to land has been refused under Article 5(2) of the Aliens Order 1946 (SR&O 1946 No. 395) (“the Order”),

(b) a non-national who has failed to comply with Article 5(1) of the Order,

(c) a non-national who has entered the State in contravention of Article 6 of the Order,

(d) a non-national deemed to be a person to whom leave to land has been refused under the Order,

F4[(e) a non-national who has failed to comply with section 4(2) of the Immigration Act 2004,

(f) a non-national who has been refused a permission under section 4(3) of that Act,

(g) a non-national who is in the State in contravention of section 5(1) of that Act,

(h) a non-national who has landed in the State in contravention of section 6(1) of that Act,]

whom an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána, with reasonable cause, suspects has been unlawfully in the State for a continuous period of less than 3 months.

F5[(2) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), a person to whom this section applies may be arrested without warrant by an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána, and a person so arrested may be taken to a place referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii) and detained—

(i) under warrant of that officer or member in a prescribed place and in the custody of the officer of the Minister or member of the Garda Síochána for the time being in charge of that place, or

(ii) for the purposes of subsection (6) and for a period or periods each not exceeding 12 hours—

(I) in a vehicle, for the purposes of bringing the person to the port from which the ship, railway train, road vehicle or aircraft concerned is due to depart, or

(II) within the port referred to in clause (I).]

(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to a person who is under the age of 18 years.

(c) If and for so long as the immigration officer or, as the case may be, the member of the Garda Síochána concerned has reasonable grounds for believing that the person is not under the age of 18 years, the provisions of subsection (1) shall apply as if he or she had attained the age of 18 years.

(d) Where an unmarried child under the age of 18 years is in the custody of any person (whether a parent or a person acting in loco parentis or any other person) and such person is detained pursuant to the provisions of this section, the immigration officer or the member of the Garda Síochána concerned shall, without delay, notify the F6[Child and Family Agency] of the detention and of the circumstances thereof.

(3) (a) A person arrested and detained under this section may, subject to subsection (4), be detained only until such time (being as soon as practicable) as he or she is removed from the State in accordance with this section but, in any event, may not be detained for a period exceeding 8 weeks in aggregate.

(b) The following periods shall be excluded in reckoning a period for the purpose of paragraph (a):

(i) any period during which the person is remanded in custody pending a criminal trial or serving a sentence of imprisonment,

(ii) any period spent by the person on board a ship, railway train, road vehicle or aircraft pursuant to this section, and

(iii) if the person has instituted court proceedings challenging the validity of his or her proposed removal from the State, any period spent by the person in a place of detention between the date of the institution of the proceedings and the date of their final determination including, where notice of appeal is given, the period between the giving thereof and the final determination of the appeal or any further appeal therefrom or the withdrawal of the appeal or, as appropriate, the expiry of the ordinary time for instituting any such appeal.

(4) Where a person detained under this section institutes court proceedings challenging the validity of his or her proposed removal from the State, the court hearing those proceedings or any appeal therefrom may, on application to it, determine whether the person shall continue to be detained or shall be released, and may make any such release subject to such conditions as it considers appropriate, including, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any one or more of the following conditions:

(a) that the person reside or remain in a particular district or place in the State;

(b) that he or she report to a specified Garda Síochána station or immigration officer at specified intervals;

(c) that he or she surrender any passport or travel document in his or her possession.

(5) A person to whom this section applies shall be removed by an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána (at the option of the officer or member)—

(a) subject to paragraph (b), to the state where he or she last embarked (whether by land, sea or air) for the State, if known,

(b) where the person was refused leave to land in circumstances where he or she arrived at a port in the State for the purpose of passing through the State in order to travel to another state and either—

(i) the carrier who was to take the person to the country of destination refused to take the person on board, or

(ii) the authorities of the state of destination have refused the person entry into that state and have sent him or her back to the State,

to the state of the person's original embarkation for the State,

(c) to the state which issued the passport or travel document held by the person, if any,

(d) to the country of nationality of the person, so far as it appears to the immigration officer or the member of the Garda Síochána concerned, or

(e) to any country to which the person is guaranteed entry.

(6) A person arrested and detained under subsection (2) may be placed on a vehicle about to leave the State for a place referred to in subsection (5) by an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána, and shall be deemed to be in lawful custody while so detained and until the vehicle leaves the State.

(7) The person in charge of a vehicle bound for a place referred to in subsection (5) shall, if so required by an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána, receive a person to whom this section applies and his or her dependants, if any, on board such vehicle and afford him or her and his or her dependants proper accommodation and maintenance during the journey.

(8) A person to whom this section applies—

(a) shall not, by act or omission, obstruct or hinder an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána engaged in the removal of a person from the State pursuant to this section,

(b) shall, for the purpose of facilitating his or her removal from the State, co-operate in any way necessary to enable an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána engaged in the removal of the person to obtain a travel document, ticket or other document required for the purpose of such removal and, in particular, shall comply with any request from the immigration officer or, as the case may be, the member of the Garda Síochána to sign a document in that connection or to affix his or her fingerprints to such a document,

(c) shall not behave in a manner likely to endanger the safety of himself or herself or the safety of others in the course of his or her removal from the State.

(9) A person who contravenes subsection (8) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

(10)  (a) This subsection applies where the identity of the carrier in whose vehicle a person to whom this section applies arrived in the State is known.

(b) An immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána may give a direction in writing in the prescribed form (or in a form to the like effect) to the carrier concerned to remove the person concerned, without delay, at no expense to the State, to a place referred to in subsection (5), and the carrier shall comply with any such direction.

(c) A direction under paragraph (b) may specify, at the option of the person giving the direction, that the carrier remove the person concerned by transporting him or her in a vehicle under his or her control or by arranging with another carrier for the removal of the person concerned.

(d) Where the carrier fails or is unable to comply without delay with a direction under paragraph (b), the immigration officer or member of the Garda Síochána concerned may make alternative arrangements for the removal of the person to a place referred to in subsection (5).

(e) Where alternative arrangements are made pursuant to paragraph (d), the costs incurred by the Minister in respect of the maintenance, detention or removal of the person concerned may be recovered from the carrier as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(11) A person who fails to comply with a direction under subsection (10) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both.

(12) A member of the Garda Síochána may arrest without warrant any person whom the member suspects of having committed an offence under subsection (9) or (11).

(13) The following provisions of the Order are revoked:

(a) paragraphs (4) and (5) of Article 5,

(b) Article 6(3),

(c) paragraphs (7) and (8) of Article 7, and

(d) the Fourth Schedule.

(14) Where, immediately before the commencement of subsection (13), a person was detained under Article 5 of the Order in a place specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Order, his or her detention in that place shall be regarded as authorised by virtue of this section and this Act shall apply accordingly, and any period of detention under that Article shall be included in reckoning a period for the purpose of subsection (3) (a).

6.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of the person being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director or manager of the body corporate.

7.—The Refugee Act 1996 is hereby amended—

(a) in section 2, by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraphs (c), (d) and (e):

“(c) there are serious grounds for considering that he or she—

(i) has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity, as defined in the international instruments drawn up to make provision in respect of such crimes,

(ii) has committed a serious non-political crime outside the State prior to his or her arrival in the State, or

(iii) has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.”,

(b) in section 7A (inserted by the Immigration Act 1999) by—

(i) the substitution in subsection (4)(a) of “2005” for “2001”,

(ii) the substitution in paragraph 1 of the Schedule of “15” for “14”, and

(iii) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph 3(g) of the Schedule:

“(gg) one shall be the chairperson of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal,”,

(c) in section 9, by—

(i)  the substitution in subsection (2) of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (a) and (b):

“(a) the date on which his or her application is transferred to a convention country pursuant to section 22 or to a safe third country (within the meaning of that section), or

 (b) the date on which his or her application is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn under this section or section 11, or”,

(ii)  the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4A) (inserted by the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000):

“(4A) (a) An applicant shall inform the Commissioner of his or her address and of any change of address as soon as possible.

(b) Where 5 working days have elapsed since the making of an application for a declaration and the applicant has not informed the Commissioner of his or her address, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.”,

(iii) the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (5) and (6):

“(5) (a) An immigration officer or an authorised person may, by notice in writing, require an applicant—

(i) to reside or remain in particular districts or places in the State, or

(ii) to report at specified intervals to an immigration officer or person or persons authorised by the Minister or member of the Garda Síochána specified in the notice,

and the applicant shall comply with the requirement.

(b) In this subsection ‘an authorised person’ means a person appointed by the Minister to be an authorised person for the purposes of this subsection.

(6) Upon application to the Minister in that behalf by the applicant concerned, the Minister may, as he or she thinks fit, direct the immigration officer or the authorised person concerned to withdraw the requirement concerned or to amend it in a specified manner.”,

(iv) the substitution in subsection (7) of “subsection (4), (4A) or (5)” for “subsection (4) or (5)”,

(v) by the insertion in subsection (8)(d) after “section 22” of “or a safe third country (within the meaning of that section)”,

(vi) the substitution in subsection (10)(b)(i) of “21 days” for “10 days”, and

(vii) the substitution in subsection (14)(a) of “21 days” for “10 days”,

(d) by the substitution of the following section for section 9A:

(e) in section 11 (as amended by the Immigration Act 1999) by—

(i) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Where an application is received by the Commissioner under section 8 and the application is not withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn pursuant to this section or section 9 or 22, it shall be the function of the Commissioner to investigate the application for the purpose of ascertaining whether the applicant is a person in respect of whom a declaration should be given.”,

(ii) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) In a case to which subsection (1) applies, the Commissioner shall, for the purposes of that provision, direct an authorised officer or officers to interview the applicant concerned and the officer or officers shall comply with any such direction and furnish a report in writing in relation to the interview concerned to the Commissioner and an interview under this subsection shall, where necessary and possible, be conducted with the assistance of an interpreter.”,

(iii) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3)(a) The applicant concerned, the High Commissioner or any other person concerned may make representations in writing to the Commissioner in relation to any matter relevant to an investigation by him or her under this section and the Commissioner shall take account of any such representations made before or during an interview under subsection (2).

(b) The High Commissioner may, whenever he or she so requests, be present at an interview under subsection (2).”,

(iv) the deletion of subsection (6) and (7),

(v) the substitution in subsection (8) of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (e) and (f):

“(e)  the duty of the applicant to co-operate with the Commissioner and to furnish information relevant to his or her application for a declaration,

(f)  the obligation of the applicant to comply with subsections (4), (4A) and (5) of section 9 and the possible consequences of non-compliance with that obligation including the possibility that his or her application for a declaration may be deemed to be withdrawn and that the Minister may refuse to give the applicant a declaration,

(g)  the possible consequences of the failure of the applicant to attend an interview under this section.”,

(vi) by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (9) (inserted by the Immigration Act 1999):

“(9) An applicant may withdraw his or her application for a declaration by sending notice of withdrawal to the Commissioner.

(10) Where an applicant does not attend for interview with an authorised officer under this section on the date and at the time fixed for the interview then, unless the applicant, not later than 3 working days from that date, furnishes the Commissioner with an explanation for the non-attendance which in the opinion of the Commissioner is reasonable in the circumstances, his or her application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.

(11) Where—

(a) it appears to the Commissioner that an applicant is failing in his or her duty to co-operate with the Commissioner or to furnish information relevant to his or her application for a declaration, or

(b) the Minister notifies the Commissioner that he or she is of opinion that the applicant is in breach of subsection (4)(a), (4A) or (5) of section 9,

the Commissioner shall send to the applicant a notice in writing inviting the applicant to indicate in writing (within 15 working days of the sending of the notice) whether he or she wishes to continue with his or her application and, if an applicant does not furnish an indication within the time specified in the notice, his or her application for a declaration shall be deemed to be withdrawn.

(12) The procedures to be followed in investigations under this section may be prescribed and different procedures may be prescribed for different classes of applications.”,

(f) by the insertion of the following sections after section 11:

(g) by the substitution of the following section for section 12:

(h) by the substitution of the following section for section 13:

(i) in section 16, by—

(i)  the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) The applicant may appeal in the prescribed manner against a recommendation of the Commissioner under section 13 (other than a recommendation pursuant to section 13(2)).”,

(ii)  the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) The Tribunal may—

(a) affirm a recommendation of the Commissioner, or

(b) set aside a recommendation of the Commissioner and recommend that the applicant should be declared to be a refugee.”,

(iii) the substitution of the following for subsection (2A) (inserted by the Immigration Act 1999):

“(2A) Where an applicant fails, without reasonable cause, to attend an oral hearing under subsection (10), then unless the applicant, not later than 3 working days from the date fixed for the oral hearing, furnishes the Tribunal with an explanation for not attending the hearing which the Tribunal considers reasonable in the circumstances his or her appeal shall be deemed to be withdrawn.

(2B) Where—

(a) it appears to the Tribunal that an applicant is failing in his or her duty to co-operate with the Commissioner or to furnish information relevant to his or her appeal, or

(b) the Minister notifies the Tribunal that he or she is of opinion that the applicant is in breach of subsection (4)(a), (4A) or (5) of section 9,

the Tribunal shall send to the applicant a notice in writing inviting the applicant to indicate in writing (within 15 working days of the sending of the notice) whether he or she wishes to continue with his or her appeal and, if an applicant does not furnish an indication within the time specified in the notice, his or her appeal shall be deemed to be withdrawn.”,

(iv) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) An appeal under this section shall be brought by notice in writing within the period specified in section 13(4)(b) or 13(5)(a) or 13(8)(a), as appropriate, and the notice shall specify the grounds of appeal and, except in a case to which section 13(5) or 13(8) applies, shall indicate whether the applicant wishes the Tribunal to hold an oral hearing for the purpose of his or her appeal.”,

(v)  the deletion in subsection (5) of “or 12”,

(vi) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection 9:

“(9) (a) An applicant may withdraw his or her appeal to the Tribunal by sending notice of withdrawal to the Tribunal and the Tribunal shall, as soon as may be, notify the Minister and the Commissioner of the withdrawal.

 (b) Where an appeal is deemed to be withdrawn pursuant to subsection (2A) or (2B), the Tribunal shall, as soon as may be, notify the applicant, his or her solicitor (if known), the Minister and the Commissioner of the withdrawal.”,

(vii) the deletion in subsection (16)(b) of “the recommendation of the Commissioner under section 12 or, as may be appropriate,”,

(viii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (16):

“(16A) The Tribunal shall affirm a recommendation of the Commissioner unless it is satisfied, having considered the matters referred to in subsection (16), that the applicant is a refugee.”,

(ix) the deletion in subsection (17)(b) of “(other than a decision of the Tribunal under subsection (2)(d))”, and

(x) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (17):

“(18) The Tribunal shall ensure that an appeal against a recommendation of the Commissioner to which section 13(5) or 13(8) applies shall be dealt with as soon as may be and, if necessary, before any other application for a declaration.”,

(j) in section 17 (as amended by the Immigration Act 1999), by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) Where an application is withdrawn or (other than pursuant to section 22) deemed to be withdrawn, or an appeal under section 16 is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn, the Minister shall refuse to give the applicant a declaration.”,

(k) in section 19, by—

(i) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) Subject to sections 9(15) and 26, no matter likely to lead members of the public to identify a person as an applicant under this Act shall be published in a written publication available to the public or be broadcast without the consent of that person.”,

and

(ii) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

(4A) (a) The chairperson of the Tribunal may, at his or her discretion, decide not to publish (other than to the persons referred to in section 16(17)) a decision of the Tribunal which in his or her opinion is not of legal importance.

(b) Any decision published shall exclude any matters which would tend to identify a person as an applicant under the Act or otherwise breach the requirement that the identity of applicants be kept confidential.

(l) the substitution of the following section for section 22:

(m) in section 24, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (6):

“(7) (a) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, enter into agreements with the High Commissioner for the reception and resettlement in the State of refugees.”,

(n) by the insertion after section 28 of the following section:

(o) in the First Schedule (inserted by the Immigration Act 1999), by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph 9:

“10. (1) Where the Commissioner is for any reason temporarily unable to act as the Commissioner or the office of the Commissioner is vacant, the Minister shall appoint a person to be the Commissioner for the duration of the inability or until an appointment is made in accordance with paragraph 1, as the case may be, and the person so appointed may perform all the functions conferred on the Commissioner by this Act.

(2) A person appointed under this paragraph shall hold office upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Finance.

11. The Commissioner may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so in the interest of the fair and efficient discharge of the business of his or her office, determine the order in which different classes of such business shall be discharged having regard to the following matters:

(a) the grounds of the applications under section 8,

(b) the country of origin of the applicants,

(c) any family relationship between applicants,

(d) the ages of the applicants and, in particular, of persons under the age of 18 years in respect of whom applications are made,

(e) the dates on which applications were made.”,

(p) in the Second Schedule (inserted by the Immigration Act 1999), by—

(i) the substitution of the following for paragraph 8:

“8. (1) If a member of the Tribunal dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint another person to be a member of the Tribunal to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned and the person appointed shall be appointed in the same manner of the Tribunal member who occasioned the vacancy.

(2) Where the chairperson is for any reason temporarily unable to act as the chairperson, or the office of the chairperson is vacant, the Minister shall appoint a person to be the chairperson for the duration of the inability or until an appointment is made under paragraph 2, as appropriate, and the person so appointed may perform all the functions conferred on the chairperson by this Act.

(3) A person appointed under this paragraph shall hold office upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Finance.”,

and

(ii) the substitution of the following for paragraph 13:

“13. The chairperson shall assign to each division the business to be transacted by it.

14. The chairperson shall endeavour to ensure that the business of the Tribunal is managed efficiently and that the business assigned to each division is disposed of as expeditiously as may be consistent with fairness and natural justice.

15. The chairperson may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so in the interest of the fair and efficient discharge of the business of the Tribunal, assign classes of business to each division having regard to the following matters:

(a) the grounds of the appeals set out in the notices of appeal,

(b) the country of origin of applicants,

(c) any family relationship between applicants,

(d) the ages of the applicants and, in particular, of persons under the age of 18 years in respect of whom applications are made,

(e) the provision of this Act pursuant to which the appeals are made.

16. The chairperson may delegate to a member of his or her staff his or her function of assigning to each division the business to be transacted by it.

17. The chairperson may from time to time issue guidelines or guidance notes generally on the practical application and operation of the provisions, or any particular provisions, of this Act and on developments in the law relating to refugees.

18. The chairperson may from time to time convene a meeting with a member or members of the Tribunal for the purpose of discussing matters relating to the discharge of the business of the Tribunal, including, in particular, such matters as the avoidance of undue divergences in the exercise by the members of their functions under section 16.

19. The chairperson shall, not later than 3 months after the end of each year, submit a report in writing to the Minister of his or her activities during that year and, not later than 1 month after such submission, the Minister shall cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

20. The chairperson may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, make a report in writing to the Minister in relation to any function performed by him or her under this Act or any matter relating to the operation of this Act.”.

8.—(1) Notwithstanding any provision of any other enactment but subject to section 11(4) of the Refugee Act 1996 (“the Act of 1996”), whenever so requested, an information holder shall give to another information holder such information, including personal information, in his or her possession, control or procurement regarding non-nationals, including applicants within the meaning of the Act of 1996, for the purposes of that Act or for the purposes of the administration of the law relating to the entry into and the removal from the State of non-nationals.

(2) The Minister for Social and Family Affairs may, for the purposes of the Social Welfare Acts F8[or the Civil Registration Act 2004], request an information holder to furnish him or her with such information including, personal information, in his or her possession, control or procurement regarding non-nationals, including applicants within the meaning of the Act of 1996 and the information holder shall comply with any such request.

(3) Following the receipt of a request under subsection (1) or (2), the Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, or a member of the Garda Síochána may withhold any information in his or her possession or control in the interest of national security or public policy (“ordre public”) or where the furnishing of the information would be likely to prejudice the prevention, detection or investigation of offences or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.

(4) In this section “an information holder” means a Minister of the Government, a local authority (for the purposes of the Local Government Act 2001), F9[the Child and Family Agency,] the Garda Síochána or any other body established—

(a) by or under any enactment (other than the Companies Acts 1963 to 2001), or

(b) under the Companies Acts 1963 to 2001 in pursuance of powers conferred by or under any other enactment,

and financed wholly or partly by means of moneys provided, or loans made or guaranteed, by a Minister of the Government or the issue of shares held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government and a subsidiary of any such body.

9.—(1) The Minister may prescribe ports to be approved ports for non-nationals arriving in the State from places or specified places outside the State for the purposes of the Aliens Order 1946 (S.R. & O., No. 395 of 1946) (“the Order”).

(2) A reference in the Order to an approved port shall be construed as a reference to an approved port prescribed under this section.

(3) Article 6(2) of, and the First Schedule to, the Order are hereby revoked.

10.—Section 5(1) of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d):

“(d) a refusal under Article 5 of the Aliens Order 1946 (S.R. and O. No. 395 of 1946),”.

11.—(1) The Minister may—

(a) by regulations provide, subject to the provisions of this Act, for any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed, and

(b) in addition to any other power conferred on him or her to make regulations, make regulations generally for the purposes of, and for the purpose of giving full effect to, this Act.

(2) Regulations under this Act may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(3) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

12.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

13.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Immigration Act 2003.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister, may be fixed therefor either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions.