86-year-old paedophile priest loses Federal Court appeal
An 86-year-old paedophile former Catholic priest came a step closer to deportation to Ireland when a court on Friday upheld a decision to strip him of his Australian citizenship.
Finian Egan has been fighting a five-year legal battle against former home affairs minister Peter Dutton’s decision to cancel his citizenship over the defrocked priest’s criminal record.
Egan initially won an appeal in 2016 in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, a court that reviews government decisions.
An 86-year-old peadophile former Catholic priest came a step closer to deportation to Ireland when a court upheld a decision to strip him of his Australian citizenship.Credit:Peter Rae
But the Federal Court overturned that and a second tribunal hearing last year upheld Mr Dutton’s action.
Egan on Friday lost a Federal Court appeal against the second tribunal’s ruling. His final option for appeal is the High Court.
Egan was a 25-year-old ordained priest when he migrated from Ireland to Australia in 1959.
He was convicted in NSW in 2013 of sexually abusing three girls between 1961 and 1987. Egan was 79 when he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
He attempted to avoid deportation by applying to the Irish government in 2016 to renounce his Irish citizenship. He approached Ireland five months after Mr Dutton cancelled his Australian citizenship.
Australia can’t cancel citizenship if it would leave someone stateless. Irish law says people need to be citizens of other countries before they can cease to be Irish citizens.
Three Federal Court judges on Friday agreed Egan remains an Irish citizen.
Mr Dutton was replaced as Home Affairs minister by Karen Andrews in March.
Ms Andrews did not comment on the court ruling, but her department said in a statement there were strong provisions in Australian law for the minister to cancel a visa “if the person is considered to not be of good character.”
Egan, who was defrocked in 2018, remains in Australia free on parole on an ex-citizen visa. The visa allows him to stay in, but not re-enter the country.
He can appeal any decision by Ms Andrews to deport him.
Egan’s lawyers said they had no instructions from him to comment on the latest court decision.
Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli has backed Egan’s bid to remain in Australia. One of Egan’s victims has called for Egan to be deported to protect Australian children.
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