I welcome the passage of the Refugee Act into law. However, I regret that it has only partially been implemented so I call upon the Minister to implement the Act fully. That it is still largely unimplemented is excused on the grounds of lack of resources. I support the Minister as fully as possible in what I have no doubt will be his strenuous efforts to secure those resources to ameliorate an extremely regrettable and dangerous situation.
Only 66 asylum decisions were made last year and partially as a result of bureaucratic inertia, we have a backlog of 4,000 cases. We are in such an unfortunate position because this crisis was allowed to develop. The Secretary General of the Department had publicly to apologise to the 1,500 refugees kept queueing for hours in the rain on two successive Saturdays outside the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
There is no doubt that there has been a significant increase in the number seeking asylum — from 31 in 1991 to 2,992 in 1997. However, this is still a small number if considered globally and there is no justification for the shambles with which we are now presented. The consequences of the situation are various and negative. Writing in The Irish Times on 3 November this year Ms Rosemary Byrne states:
The failure of authority to make expeditious and fair determinations invites those with no valid claim to asylum to enter and remain in Ireland for a prolonged period of time.
In other words, our very procrastination is exacerbating the perception of an influx of refugees. Ms Byrne continues:
For genuine refugees the recent trauma of flight is compounded by the fear of potential return to a country where they are at risk of persecution.
This is exacerbated by the extended period during which they must wait for their determination, and their heightened vulnerability due to the absence of the full procedural safeguards promised, but yet to be delivered by the Refugee Act, 1996.
I have in mind a case about which I have been in contact with the Minister, concerning a qualified doctor from a distinguished family in an African country. Members of his immediate family have been summarily executed for their opposition to the tyrannous regime in that country. There is no need to go into detail here except to say that, in my opinion, this is a clear black and white case, yet this person is left suspended in limbo with no decision for a considerable time, suffering exactly the anxiety to which Ms Byrne refers. Added to this, last Tuesday, within a week of International Human Rights Day, this man and a colleague, travelling to the mosque for their religious devotions, were summarily taken off a bus apparently simply on the basis of their colour, harassed, harangued, detained, searched, photographed against their wishes at the police station and compelled to sign a form indicating they had not been badly treated before being released. This behaviour is intolerable. It is time a moral lead in this matter was clearly and explicitly given by the Minister.
I am aware of the letter sent on 10 December to Mrs. Hope Hanlon from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. In that regard, under section 5 of the Act, relating to admissibility, it is clear that there is no legal status for asylum seekers. Under section 12, dealing with the accelerated procedure for manifestly unfounded cases, the right of appeal within seven days of the notification is extremely short. Under section 13, there is no independent review of an appeal. Section 18 raises the spectre of the public policy/ ordre publicque controversy which was extensively aired during the passage of the legislation in this House.
It is clearly the intention of these new procedures to set up fast-track procedures to decrease the number of asylum seekers as rapidly as possible and with minimal regard for their human rights. I strongly support the view of Amnesty International, an organisation which the Minister has himself quoted his approval of when he was in Opposition, that the Department has taken an Act of the Oireachtas, selected from it those parts which suit departmental procedures, and abandoned the rest.
I have already mentioned the problem of manifestly unfounded applications and the fact that under these procedures certain persons will no longer be entitled to appeal decisions to an independent refugee appeal board. This contradicts the position of the Act passed by the Oireachtas.
The appeals are to be decided by a person of more senior rank. Nothing is indicated as to the capacity, qualifications or training of this person, nor is there any requirement on these officials to explain the procedures involved. In contrast, asylum applicants whose cases are fully examined by the State will be allowed to appeal any negative decision to an independent appeals authority. This will clearly be a more lengthy process. It is, therefore, obvious that the more cases that can be dealt with speedily within the Department, the quicker the asylum backlog can be resolved and new cases dealt with. It is also obvious that those whose cases will be dealt with under the new fast-track procedures will not get the independent hearing which is essential for fairness. Moreover, all officials dealing with asylum applications should be trained by the UNHCR as is standard practice in many other countries.
I find it extremely worrying that this letter does not mention anywhere the need for asylum applicants to have access to adequate legal assistance in spite of the fact that the Department has promised to release details of a legal aid scheme for asylum seekers for at least a year. Perhaps the Minister will have some good news for us today. It is worth refreshing the Minister's memory on what he said in the debate in Dáil Éireann on 19 October 1995 on the Second Stage of the Refugee Bill, 1995. I refer to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, not to Deputy Kitt. He said:
I am sure the Minister will be aware that Amnesty International published a document setting out its objections to certain aspects of the Bill while generally welcoming it. It also states that the category of manifestly unfounded applications is open to potential serious abuse and grave injustices. Amnesty International states that it cannot understand why all claims for asylum cannot be dealt with under the ordinary system. It also states that experience abroad has shown that the use of fast-track procedures saves neither time nor money. I totally agree with the observations and criticisms of Amnesty International in that respect.
I refer to an excellent article in Trócaire Development Review, 1997 written by Adrienne Collins and entitled "Is Ireland meeting its international obligations towards refugees" . I particularly commend to the Minister and his advisers the recommendations contained on pages 109 to 111. I would like to place them on the record of this House because they encapsulate the core of my argument better than I could put it myself.
Ireland should encourage entry by quota refugees in a more open and inclusive way.
Ireland should be pro-active in times of major international crisis and should not wait until being shamed into accepting quota refugees in an attempt at burden-sharing.
Ireland should implement domestic law in relation to refugees.
The Irish government needs to fully implement the 1996 Refugee Act as a matter of urgency, as the most basic and essential need of all asylum seekers is to access the determination procedure. It should ensure there is an effective system of legal aid. It is vital that decisions on asylum applications are both fair and efficient in terms of waiting time.
Ireland should provide access to legal advice for all asylum seekers.
There should be a commitment and practice of high quality training for all staff implementing asylum procedures.
In view of the current level of applications allocate increased resources to all agencies handling asylum applicants.
Include the issue of refugees in any follow-up to the White Paper on Foreign Policy.
In line with sections 3.205 and 3.207 of the White Paper on Foreign Policy Irish representatives to intergovernmental discussions on asylum issues should demand that these fora be more open and democratic. They should also press for EU asylum policies to be standardised in compliance with the Geneva Convention.
Recommendations which relate to the provision of support services during the determination process include:
Set up a task force or working group to provide a plan of action for the reception of asylum seekers in Ireland which acknowledges the trauma asylum seekers may he suffering. This should cover orientation, information on rights, access to social services, counselling, and provision for accommodation. Information needs to be available in a language asylum seekers can understand.
Provide short-stay accommodation geared towards asylum seekers' particular needs.
Provide English language classes.
Communication is crucial to participating in any society, but there is no provision for language training until an asylum seeker has received a positive response to her/his asylum application. Some classes are provided on a voluntary basis by the Irish Refugee Council.
Allow access to education and vocational training after a specified length of time.
Asylum seekers should be allowed to work after a specified length of time in the country.
The man to whom I referred is a highly distinguished doctor and he is upset that he cannot contribute to the country which is presently hosting him.
Both of the above would allow asylum seekers to become more active members of society.
Provide support in the area of psycho-social issues.
Refugees and asylum seekers are commonly traumatised by their experiences in their country of origin. They may also have extreme difficulty in coping with the change of culture, language and lifestyle in Ireland and miss the support of their family and friends. They need access to counselling and also for support services to integrate them into Irish society. They also need support in maintaining their own cultural identity. Recently self-help groups have been set up by refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland and these should be given practical support and access to training.
Provide education, welfare and accommodation to meet the varied needs of unaccompanied minors.
All these are matters of great concern to decent people. The Minister of State fits this qualification extremely well and, like Senator Henry, his heart is in the right place when it comes to such matters. Why are these matters left entirely to the discretion of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform which has shown itself to be totally inept in dealing with them? Is it not time that the human rights desk in the Department was involved, particularly in the case of third country repatriations? If, for example, Algerian refugees were returned by Ireland to their country of origin they might quickly return to France. However, the French Government has shown a callous disregard for their rights and, even though it knows they stand a high risk of being murdered, it is happy to send them back to Algeria on the simple basis that it is not it who is murdering them. According to French sources, they are being murdered not by the Algerian Government — although we know there may be a serious involvement here — but by unspecified guerrilla groups. This is not good enough. If we do not take action what is the point of having a human rights desk in the Department of Foreign Affairs? I call on the Minister for Justice to co-ordinate sensitively this part of his responsibility with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
