22 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Justice the number of illegal immigrants allowed to stay in Ireland permanently over the past five years; and her views on the overall situation. [7546/97]

Non-nationals in breach of the law in so far as it affects their permission to be in the State are not given permission to remain in the State. However, in very exceptional circumstances and only after they have regularised their status, non-nationals may be given permission to remain in the State for a period not in excess of 12 months which is subject to review.

Statistics on non-nationals are not maintained in a manner which would facilitate the extraction of details of cases of this nature.