An American woman, Stephanie Dick, who has been living and working in Ireland for the past 16 years – including West Cork – is facing deportation.
AN American woman, Stephanie Dick, who has been living and working in Ireland for the past 16 years – including West Cork – is facing deportation.
In 2016, she managed a hostel in County Galway, but before that she had lived and worked in Kinsale, where she paid her taxes and did not claim any social welfare.
The issue only came to a head in October when Gardaí in Clifden – who were acting on a complaint they had received – asked to see her immigration documentation.
Stephanie Dick engaged an immigration lawyer and applied for Irish residency, but her application was unsuccessful and she was ultimately presented with a deportation order in November.
Stephanie, her friends, and her supporters have set up an online petition on change.org to fight her corner.
So far, more than 2,000 people have signed the ‘Keep Stephanie in Ireland’ petition, which they hope will prove persuasive when presented to David Stanton TD, the Minister of State for Justice with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration and Integration.
