In Mr Jones' case, the applicable one-year period ran from September 1, 2016, to August 31, 2017. During that time, Mr Jones, who works in the university sector here, was out of Ireland for 100 days, 97 on holiday and three for work reasons. The Minister, in a decision of November 2018, refused Mr Jones' application because he was out of the country for more than the discretionary absence period of six weeks. Either an applicant has had a period of one year's continuous residence or they have not, he said. The Minister's refusal was because Mr Jones had gone outside the discretionary period but the Minister cannot apply such discretion under the Act, he said.

Source: Irish Examiner July 17, 2019 18:00 UTC