Vol. 498 No. 4
384 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the individual in his Department who made the statement reported in a newspaper article (details supplied) that Irish application procedures in respect of asylum seekers had been described as a model by officials of the UNHCR; the evidence on which it was based; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27508/98]
It is not standard procedure to name individual officials in reply to parliamentary questions. However, in relation to the article cited by the Deputy, I can confirm that my Department's press office briefed the newspaper in question, on its request, in this matter which arises in the wake of a recent very cordial meeting which I had with two senior officials from UNHCR Headquarters. At that meeting, the UNHCR officials in question were unstinting in their praise of the efforts of the Irish authorities to manage the processing of asylum applications here in a fair manner.
