The High Court has quashed the Minister for Justice’s refusal of an Irish citizen’s application to bring her nephew from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Ireland under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme Humanitarian Admission Programme 2 (IHAP 2). The court ordered the Minister to reconsider the application, but did not decide whether permission should be granted.
The applicant, whose name was anonymised in the judgment, is an Irish citizen originally from the DRC. Her nephew was 16 when the proceedings were described in the judgment and lived in Kinshasa. His father, the applicant’s brother, died in 2014. The applicant said the boy’s mother had been missing for many years and that she had supported his day-to-day needs, including school and medical costs. She adopted him under Congolese law in 2020.
The Minister refused the application in December 2021, saying the applicant had not provided evidence of legal guardianship or an adoption recognised in Ireland. The decision also said the adult carer with whom the boy lived had not given permission for him to travel to Ireland, and noted there was no evidence the applicant had engaged with the Adoption Authority of Ireland about recognition of the adoption.
The applicant argued that the scheme did not require an adoption to be recognised under Irish law before it could be considered as evidence of parental responsibility. She also sought consideration under the scheme’s separate category for a vulnerable close family member without a spouse, partner or other close relative to support them.
The Minister’s submissions raised concerns about the mother’s whereabouts, the boy’s care arrangements and whether his carer consented to his transfer. The court said the written refusal stated its reasons on its face, and the Minister could not add other grounds from the file to justify that decision in court.
Mr Justice Cian Ferriter held that parental responsibility under the scheme could be exercised in practice even without a formal order recognised in Ireland. An adoption made in a scheme country could be relevant to that assessment, though it did not by itself establish eligibility or require the Minister to approve an application. The Minister could still scrutinise the evidence and decide whether reunification was in the child’s best interests.
The court ordered certiorari, quashing the December 2021 refusal and remitting the application to the Minister for a fresh decision. It said the applicant should be allowed to make further submissions. The court did not determine the application’s overall merits or direct the Minister to grant it. Matters identified for possible consideration included the mother’s whereabouts, the applicant’s relationship with her nephew beyond financial support, the effect of the Congolese adoption order, the carer’s views and consent, and the boy’s own views given his age.