The repeated refusal of GPs, social housing officers and social security staff to act as immigration officers also means that if more robust residence tests are to be introduced for other EU nationals then an easy and authoritative way is needed of checking how long they have been in the country and what their immigration status is.
"We deplore the categorical refusal by the British of Unesco's invitation to launch a mediation process over the Parthenon sculptures housed in the British Museum," the cultural minister had said.
They say that, when the new estate is finally built, they will offer us first refusal, but we would all be scattered by then – and how much of it would be genuinely affordable?
In December, he refused to license a new grammar school in Kent while – with characteristic ambiguity – suggesting this refusal was merely a technicality.
Most worrying is the referee's refusal in the aftermath to accept Oxlade‑Chamberlain's word as he calmly pointed out the mistake.
The build-up to the convention has been overshadowed by the highly controversial "legitimate rape" remarks made by Todd Atkin, a congressman from Missouri, and his subsequent refusal to quit his bid for re-election despite pressure from the party's leadership.
The disproportionate power of the executive to stifle debate is a widely recognised shortcoming of the Dáil, most starkly illustrated by Kenny's recent refusal to permit a free vote among his party colleagues on the contentious matter of abortion.
That might not come as much of a shock, given Boyle's widely publicised refusal of a knighthood at the end of last year.
"The Abbott government refusal to address a high-growth tax concession that largely benefits high income earners is nothing more than a continuation of its unfair budget strategy to target low- and middle-income Australians," Bowen said.
Inside the room, Christie's refusal to apologise for who he was appeared to go down better than Bush's studied humility.
Increasingly, the German public is getting frustrated with the stubborn refusal of the crisis to resolve itself.
