BYE, BYE BABIES; State to close controversial refugee child loophole in new legal action.

Byline: Allison Bray

THE Government is finally acting to close a legal loophole that gives asylum-seekers the right to stay in Ireland because they gave birth here.

More than 6,000 non-nationals being granted residency since 1998 thanks to the blunder in the constitution - even though many would otherwise have no right to stay.

The Office of the Refugee Application Commissioner said almost half of female asylum seekers are visibly pregnant when they apply for refugee status.

And Dublin maternity hospitals have reported an average of 30 non-nationals a week are giving birth.

But now the State is looking at changing the law through a Supreme Court challenge.

A government spokes-man said ministers will be monitoring next month's High Court case in which two sets of parents who have Irish-born children are due to appeal their deportation orders.

Depending on how the High Court rules, the State aims to take the issue to the Supreme Court in a bid to narrow the grounds in which parents can claim residency rights.

Justice Minister John O'Donoghue is understood to favour a plan in which only parents who have lived in the state for a specific period before the birth of their child can claim residency.

It's understood the State will seek a review of a 1990 Supreme Court ruling in which the Fajujonu family was granted residency because they had been living in Ireland for nine years and had three children.

The ruling has led to the current situation.

Minister O'Donoghue is understood to be awaiting the outcome of the case before introducing any immigration legislation.

He recently told the Dail: "It is possible for a person to arrive in an advanced stage of pregnancy and arrange for their child to be born here. Such a system is potentially open to abuse."

The move to tighten up the loophole comes as the government also plans to crack down on airlines and ferry companies that bring asylum seekers into the state without the necessary paperwork.

Carriers including Aer Lingus and Irish Ferries will be fined pounds 3,000 for each non-national arriving in Ireland without a valid passport and a visa.

The cabinet gave the go-ahead this week for the Immigration Bill 2002 and the proposals will be announced by Minister O'Donoghue within days.

A source said: "This will put the onus on carriers such as Aer Lingus that passengers must have valid documentation to enter Ireland.

"It is another measure being introduced by the Minister to crack down on illegal immigration."

But the new measures will not apply to passengers travelling from the UK, which is a major source of many bogus asylum-seekers, according to the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

Many asylum seekers who have been denied refugee status in the UK are crossing the Irish Sea and claiming asylum here.

CAPTION(S):

HOSPITAL: The Mater, Dublin, where many refugees give birth; BIRTHS: Dublin's Rotunda, where many refugees end up; PROBLEM: A refugee begging on the streets; PLAN: O'Donoghue