Written Answers. - Refugee Legal Services.
David Stanton
Question:
113
Mr. Stanton
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
the number of applications currently before the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal respectively; the date on which the earliest of these applications was lodged with each office; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[18303/01]
The information sought by the Deputy and made available to me by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (RAC) and the Office of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT) is set out in the following tabular statements:
Applications with the RAC for the period 1997-2001
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
2001(31/05/01)
|
Total
|
|
2*
|
107
|
1,940
|
5,480
|
3,423
|
10,952
|
*The date on which the earliest of the applications was made is 20/05/97.
Appeals with the RAT for the period 1998-2001
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
2001(31/05/01)
|
Total
|
|
18**
|
210
|
1,072
|
1,079
|
2,379
|
**The date on which the earliest of the appeals was made is 11/09/98
I would point out in relation to the number of applications currently in the asylum determination process that this figure represents applications on hands at 31 May 2001 including applications made up to that date.
While the number of cases on hands is some 13,300, our experience has shown that the actual number of persons currently awaiting a determination is less than this figure. It would appear that in reality, significant numbers are no longer in the asylum system.
It should be noted that a large number of persons fall out of the asylum process for various reasons. Approximately 4,000 persons dropped out of the direct provision arrangements in the last year while the rate of applicants who fail to attend for their scheduled interview is on average around 40%. It is reasonable to conclude that many of these left the jurisdiction also.
I believe that the greatest service we can provide to those who will be recognised as refugees is to ensure that their claims are decided speedily and that our regulations do not serve to attract large numbers of non-genuine applicants to the detriment of the genuine cases. To this end the Government has committed substantial resources to receiving and processing asylum seekers with the recruitment and training of almost 400 additional staff. This will bring the total number of staff serving in the asylum and immigration areas to more than 600.
The Government now has in place a comprehensive asylum strategy, which is aimed at greatly increasing processing capacity to deliver more speedy decisions in relation to applications for refugee status leading to: the completion to finality of the processing of all new asylum applications within a six-month period; the processing of the asylum applications currently on hands as soon as possible; and dealing with the increased numbers of repatriations, which are expected to arise in respect of persons who do not qualify for refugee status.
The major impact of this strategy will be progressively in evidence from the autumn onwards.
