I refer the Deputies to my replies to Parliamentary Questions No. 61 and 152 of 7 February 2001 and No. 88 of 15 November 2000 which dealt with the issue of the entitlement of asylum seekers to enter into paid employment.
The Government, as an exceptional measure, agreed on 26 July 1999 that those asylum seekers who had been in this country for more than 12 months, who were still awaiting a final determination of their application for refugee status and who had been compliant with their obligations as asylum seekers should be given the right to seek work. The arrangement applied to those who sought asylum here up to 26 July 1999 as soon as they crossed the 12 month threshold.
In December 1999, the Government decided to remove the requirement that an employer must obtain a work permit before employing asylum seekers covered by the 26 July 1999 Government decision. The Government also decided that each eligible asylum seeker should be issued with a letter confirming entitlement to work for presentation to potential employers and my Department arranged accordingly. To date, over 2,650 such letters have issued.
As I previously informed the House, it is not proposed to allow asylum applicants who are not covered by the aforementioned July 1999 decision to take up paid employment pending a final decision being made on their applications. I have been informed by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner that the number of asylum seekers who have been here for more than six months and who are still awaiting a first stage decision is 8,792. I have also been informed by the Office of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal that there were 2,503 appeal cases on hands at 31 March 2001. Approximately 2,300 of these appeals relate to applicants who made first stage applications for refugee status more than six months ago.