Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 26 Nov 1998

Vol. 497 No. 4

Written Answers - Refugee Legal Services.

Dan Neville

Question:

26 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when the proposed independent legal service for asylum seekers will be established; if he will grant work permits, particularly to those who have been waiting for a decision for more than six months; the details of the study commissioned by his Department, and announced by an official on 24 December 1997, on Irish law on refugees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22441/98]

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

I am pleased to announce that agreement has been reached with the Legal Aid Board on arrangements for the provision of a comprehensive legal service for asylum seekers. The refugee legal service will be independent of the Department and will provide legal advice and representation for asylum seekers. It will assist asylum seekers in exercising their legal rights in all aspects of the Irish asylum procedure.

The new legal service will be based at the "one-stop-shop" centre for asylum seekers at Lower Mount Street. It is my intention that it will be available by end February 1999. The staff for the service will be provided from the existing staff of the board and new staff to be recruited specially for this service. The recruitment process will commence immediately and arrangements have been made for initial training to take place in the new year for all staff involved in the provision of this service. The refugee legal service will be ring fenced in terms of funding and resources from the existing law centre service and will not interfere with the existing commitments of the Legal Aid Board.

In relation to the granting of work permits, it must be borne in mind that asylum seekers only have temporary permission to remain in the State pending the determination of their applications. The Refugee Act, 1996, actually provides that asylum applicants "shall not seek or enter employment or carry on any business, trade or profession during the period before the final determination of his or her application.".

Asylum seekers are people seeking refugee status on the basis that they are escaping from persecution. Giving applicants early access to employment without establishing whether, in fact, they are escaping persecution, would inevitably involve abuse in that persons who would otherwise be refused permission to enter the State to work and who are in no sense genuine refugees could by-pass the regulatory regime by claiming asylum. Deputies will agree that we should not, as a matter of policy, facilitate abuse of refugee status. Allowing asylum seekers to work could also suit traffickers in illegal immigrants because it would create the disposable income from which they, the traffickers, could be paid.

One of the reasons put forward for allowing asylum seekers to work is the length of time taken to process their applications. One of the positive aspects of the new procedures for processing asylum claims which have been introduced, including the allocation of increased resources for this work, will be that the processing of applications should be considerably speeded up. The comparative study between Irish and EU member states refugee legislation is due to be completed by the end of the year. This study, together with the experience gained in my Department in the operation of the new procedures, will be an important component in the review of the Refugee Act, 1996. It is intended that the study will be published.