The Refugee Act was passed by the Oireachtas earlier this year to the acclaim of all political parties. Indeed, some speeches by Senator Mulcahy in support of the Bill urged the Minister to be more liberal. There was genuine support for the legislation but I am extremely anxious about the lack of progress in implementing it since it was passed.
The commitment of support was made long before the Act was introduced. The interim report on applications for refugee status in the report of the interdepartmental committee on non-Irish nationals which was published in 1993 stated that there was a genuine public concern regarding the State's procedures for dealing with applications for asylum. It said the concern had been highlighted earlier that year during contributions to the debate in Dáil Éireann on a Private Members' refugee protection Bill. In her contribution to the debate the then Minister for Justice, Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn, emphasised she would honour that commitment at the earliest opportunity. This was genuinely meant and she started work on the Refugee Bill almost immediately. The interdepartmental report, which was issued when Fianna Fáil was in Government, also said it was an essential recommendation that the existing administrative arrangements for asylum seekers and refugees should be placed on a statutory footing with the important addition of an appropriate appeals authority.
I was anxious that the appeals authority should be part of the Bill and I put down an amendment, which was supported by Senator Norris and others, to provide for a suspensive period to the Dublin Convention. This was incorporated in the Bill and the reason I take this issue so seriously. There have been newspaper reports of a huge influx of refugees in this country and there is increased public awareness that some of the refugees are not seeking political asylum but have travelled across Europe to this country apparently as a result of their favourable impression of our social welfare system. However, a large number of these refugees have returned to their own countries.
I and the general public do not fully understand the measures which were recently put in place. They appear to work to the detriment of those who might be seeking political asylum for genuine reasons. The ministerial order which was put in place is a non-statutory instrument and might involve the refusal of entry to people genuinely seeking political asylum. Every country has the right to decide under what criteria it will admit aliens. However, when the Refugee Act was introduced it was not understood by Members of either House of the Oireachtas that the Act might be superseded by ministerial orders, as is the case at present.
I had hoped the new Minister might, as was suggested by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, suspend the order so the situation could at least be examined. It appears the non-implementation of relevant sections of the Refugee Act, which are necessary to deal with the administration of refugees, is the reason for the refugee problem in our streets and in the Eastern Health Board rather than anything wrong in the Act.
The Dublin Convention will be introduced in September and I am concerned that we are putting another hurdle in the way of those seeking political asylum in Ireland. After September, will the ministerial order and the Dublin Convention be in place? Will people be forced to go through the suspensive period of the convention, which we were happy to support, because it prevents asylum seekers or refugees being left in limbo? That was the case for many years and people were sent from one EU country to another. Will people be dealt with under the Refugee Act? Matters have been complicated enormously by the introduction of the ministerial order.
Under the new procedures introduced approximately two months ago, people arriving in Ireland from Great Britain or Northern Ireland are in an invidious position compared to those arriving from another EU country, or a country outside the European Union, because they have an extra hurdle to cross. I did not realise we would return to the position where a civil servant decided on whether an asylum seeker should be allowed to stay in Ireland. There appears to be no means by which an applicant is permitted the possibility of presenting his or her case. It does not appear possible for an applicant to get legal representation or translation services. The only right an applicant appears to have is to receive a letter from the official, stating that he or she decided the person should not come into the country. This is not in line with the spirit of the Act, which was supported by all parties and Independents, and it does not correspond to natural justice.
Why has there been such a delay in the appointment of the refugee applications commissioner? I recall the post was advertised in February and was told interviews took place in May. I do not know if the post was offered to somebody and he or she refused it. However, this is mid-July and an appointment has not been made. This makes me think there is a certain reluctance in the Department of Justice to implement the will of the Legislature in an Act passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas. We were most anxious about these areas and I recall the legislation received support from all sides. Why has this essential part of the Act not been promoted?
Until that is done, it is almost impossible to put in place the various functional aspects of the Bill which are necessary to prevent the type of scenes which occurred outside the Eastern Health Board offices. A vast number of people arrived there, some at 7 a.m., but there was not enough staff to deal with them. There appears to be an enormous lack of communication between the Departments of Justice, Social Welfare and Health with regard to dealing with these people. This gives the public an appalling impression of turmoil caused by refugees in Ireland and leads to the type of stories which have been published in newspapers recently. It makes the public feel the influx of refugees must be resisted. Genuine political asylum seekers may be refused entry due to the lack of will to implement the legislation passed six months ago.
The implementation of the Act is flowing like molasses in January. This is July and I want to know how far the Minister has moved towards planning the implementation of the legislation. Perhaps he could tell the House what he has done with regard to the refugee commissioner and about the arrangements that have been made at ports to intercept people entering from Great Britain and Northern Ireland who are being treated invidiously.
