LA PLANIFICACIÓN DEL LÍDER EN UN EQUIPO DE PROYECTOS INFORMÁTICOS

Irregular Migration

7.1 L

The Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 was enacted in December 2014 and amends the Civil Registration Act 2004 on this topic. Marriage and civil partnerships of convenience are defined. Procedures and guidelines for registrars in determining such an opinion are also contained in the Act.301 _{The Minister for}

Justice and Equality welcomed the Act, stating that it would ‘strengthen the arm of the State in tackling marriages of convenience and associated immigration abuses’.302

The new rules surrounding the procedures for suspected marriages and civil partnerships of convenience are inserted into Section 58 of the Civil Registration Act 2004. This section sets out the procedures in relation to lodging an objection to a proposed marriage or civil partnership. The grounds upon which a registrar may refer a proposed marriage for review to the Superintendent Registrar includes such considerations as whether the intended couple speak a common language, the length of time a couple have known each other prior to notifying the registrar of their intention to marry, the number and frequency of their meetings prior to notifying the registrar of their intention to marry, how well each party is familiar with their partner’s personal details, the extent to which the parties intend to continue existing mutual emotional and financial support, the immigration status of any foreign national party to the intended marriage and any other information providing reasonable grounds for considering the marriage to be a marriage of convenience.

Marriages and civil partnerships which took place in an embassy in Ireland were not carried out in accordance with Irish marriage or civil partnership law. As such, these marriages and civil partnerships are not valid in Ireland. On a once-off basis, there are procedures contained within the Act which will validate those marriages and civil partnerships which have already taken place in Ireland and which are still in existence should those couples wish to have their marriages or civil partnerships recognised in Ireland.

301 _{See www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2014/a3414.pdf.}

302 _{Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (16 September 2014). ‘Minister Fitzgerald announces major immigration} civilianisation initiative’. Press Release. Available at www.inis.gov.ie.

Apart from Section 19(2) of the Act, which relates to the validation of marriages solemnised in an embassy or a diplomatic mission in the State before the coming into effect of the amendments to the Act of 2004 wrought by Sections 19(1), and 26(2) thereof, which makes similar provision in respect of civil partnerships which took place between 1 January 2011 and the day before the coming into effect of the amendments effected by Section 26(1), the other provisions of the Act have yet to be commenced and are scheduled for commencement in 2015.

The Minister also noted that as the legislation commences in 2015, close cooperation between immigration authorities and the General Register’s Office would take place, as well as with NERA and the Department of Social Protection to ‘target employers of illegal migrants’.303

7.2 R

A 2014 policy paper by the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) estimates that there are between 20,000 and 26,000 undocumented migrant adults living in Ireland currently, with the majority having entered the country legally. The paper is based on research with 540 undocumented migrants in Ireland, gathered by undocumented migrants within their own communities and collected anonymously. An analysis of over 2,600 MRCI case files supplemented and supported the data. Using a residual method, the MRCI paper uses data from INIS and informed by their own case management system, with a result of a range of between 20,541 and 25,506 adult undocumented migrants in Ireland, and 2,423 and 5,106 undocumented children. The majority of overall migrants had been living in Ireland for more than five years (81 per cent), and had entered the country legally (86.5 per cent). The policy paper finds that the majority of undocumented migrants are in employment (87 per cent), typically lower-paid work. Over two-thirds have been in the same job for over two years (66.5 per cent). Of those surveyed, the main nationalities were Filipino, Chinese, Mauritian, Brazilian and Pakistani, however it is recognised that undocumented migrants come from a diverse range of nationalities. Almost half of those surveyed had children under 18 years (44 per cent), with just under a third accompanied by children in Ireland.

The main issues raised included difficulties in accessing basic services such as healthcare, and specific residency and education (third-level) problems for children of undocumented migrants. It is also noted that undocumented workers are ‘highly vulnerable’ to exploitation. The main sectors of employment are

303 _{Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (16 September 2014). ‘Minister Fitzgerald announces major immigration} civilianisation initiative’. Press Release. Available at www.inis.gov.ie.

restaurant and catering at 37.5 per cent, domestic work at 32.5 per cent and cleaning and maintenance at 10.5 per cent. Other sectors include retail, hotel, medical, healthcare and agriculture. The policy paper calls for the MRCI proposal, first developed in 2010, of an earned regularisation scheme where set criteria and procedures would be established.304

304 _{Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (November 2014). Ireland is Home. An analysis of the current situation of undocumented} migrants in Ireland. Available at www.mrci.ie.