The Chinese mother of a nine-year-old boy whose school in Bray is campaigning to prevent his deportation obtained an Irish passport for him under false pretences.

Last week Simon Harris, the health minister, joined a number of Wicklow politicians in calling for Charlie Flanagan, the justice minister, to halt the planned deportation of Leena Mei Mei Xue and her son Eric Zhi Ying Xue, a student in St Cronan’s national school.

Xue’s case has acttracted international media coverage after the school began an online petition, which has been signed more than 45,000 times. “Quite frankly, Eric is Irish,” Harris told the BBC. “He was born here, goes to school here and has never lived anywhere else. This is his home. This is his country. I