Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 20 Oct 1998

Vol. 495 No. 4

Written Answers. - Asylum Applications.

Austin Deasy

Question:

315 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his Department has consulted with the Council of Europe regarding the determination of applications for asylum from citizens from the various countries in east and central Europe; and if their requests for asylum may be based more on economic grounds rather than discrimination against ethnic groups. [16503/98]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

Officials of my Department attend meetings of Council of Europe committees where asylum and migration issues are discussed. The Department has access to all Council of Europe documentation in these areas and other areas, e.g., human rights, as appropriate.

As the situation in the country of origin of asylum seekers is a most important factor in the determination process, it is essential that such information is researched in detail. For this purpose, my Department obtains information from, inter alia, the UNHCR, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Amnesty International reports, the media and other EU member states.

An applicant for refugee status must establish a well-founded fear of persecution and where it is established that such a fear exists the applicant will be granted refugee status. Each application is individually examined and it is only after such examination is completed that a decision on its well-foundedness can be taken.

My Department accepts applications for refugee status from persons of many different countries of origin. All these applications are examined in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Convention to determine if Ireland is the appropriate State to consider the applications. Following this examination, the applications are considered in accordance with the definition of a refugee as set out in section 2 of the Refugee Act, 1996. This section defines a refugee as someone who owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it. An applicant must establish a well-founded fear of persecution and where it is established that such a fear does not exist the application will be rejected and the applicant refused refugee status in the State.

International experience is that there are those who intentionally misuse asylum procedures for illegal immigration purposes. Last year I attended an international conference with almost 40 other Ministers and representatives of international institutions which examined the world-wide problem of illegal immigration. At that conference, I was interested to hear the UNHCR representative speak on discouraging the abuse of asylum procedures. He said that a number of migrants seeking employment, rather than protection from persecution, circumvent legal immigration regulations and request asylum. He emphasised, and I agree with him, that attempts to obtain asylum, by people with no valid claim to international protection, take advantage of asylum procedures and create serious problems by clogging those procedures. He went on to say that, moreover, such abusive claims have greatly contributed to the confusion between refugees and illegal migrants and, in turn, reflect negatively on the asylum institution and, hence, on bona fide refugees. The UNHCR also underlined another major concern of states and the UNCHR alike namely, the phenomenon of asylum seekers who leave countries in which they have found, or could have found, protection in order to seek asylum elsewhere. Movements of this kind have a destabilising effect on international efforts aimed at finding durable solutions for refugees.

While recognising that there is a problem with abuse of asylum procedures, as a means of facilitating illegal immigration, it is nevertheless critically important that we do not prejudge cases, that each application is fully and fairly considered and that each applicant has access to an independent appeals system. These are the principles by which I am operating and will continue to operate.