The High Court has refused to block the deportation of a young Brazilian married couple who arrived in Ireland in 2023, despite allowing them to pursue one limited challenge concerning the deadline for appealing their refused international protection claims.
The couple arrived at Dublin Airport on 28 February 2023 and applied for international protection days later. Their applications were refused in May 2024. They were told that they had 15 working days to appeal to the International Protection Appeals Tribunal, but no appeal was lodged within that period.
After they were refused permission to remain, deportation orders were made on 11 December 2024. They were subsequently directed to leave Ireland by 2 February 2025 or present for deportation arrangements on 12 March.
Applications to revoke the deportation orders were made in March 2025. Ms Justice Stack found that these repeated matters already considered during the protection and deportation processes and provided no basis for judicial review or an injunction.
The couple did not apply to IPAT for an extension of time to appeal until 20 August 2025, approximately 14 months after the original deadline. IPAT refused the extension the following day.
The judge accepted that one legal issue arising from that decision was arguable: how the two statutory requirements governing extensions of time should operate together. Leave for judicial review was granted on that single point only.
However, the court sharply distinguished that arguable legal issue from the couple’s request to remain in Ireland while the challenge proceeds. Ms Justice Stack found their delay in seeking an IPAT appeal extreme, noting that they had obtained legal advice months earlier and still did not make the application until shortly before a planned deportation.
The injunction was refused. The court held that the deportation orders remained lawful and that the Minister was entitled to deport the applicants notwithstanding the continuing IPAT judicial review challenge.