Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2012
458. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has considered the Irish Refugee Council's report, Roadmap for Asylum Reform; if any of the recommendations in the report are being progressed in policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42867/12]
View answerI am aware of the report referred to by the Deputy and the recommendations therein which essentially concern the introduction of a Single Protection Procedure, issues relating to the processing of asylum applications and a call from the Irish Refugee Council for a single independent appeals tribunal dealing with asylum and immigration cases. As the Deputy may be aware, the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010 provides for the establishment of a single protection application procedure and a new appeals body. Work on the details of the Bill is ongoing at my Department pursuant to current Government policy which is committed, under the Programme for National Recovery, to "introduce comprehensive reforms of the immigration, residency and asylum systems, which will include a statutory appeals system and set out rights and obligations in a transparent way".
As I have outlined previously to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence, several hundred amendments to the Bill are anticipated, the majority of a technical nature. At the joint committee I also expressed the considered view that instead of engaging in an extremely cumbersome process of tabling hundreds of amendments to the 2010 Bill it would be much more efficient to publish a new and enhanced one that would incorporate the anticipated amendments while addressing key outstanding issues several of which have been of previous concern to Members. This proposition was broadly welcomed by the joint committee which I very much appreciate given the protracted history of this piece of legislation. Work on the Bill will continue therefore, including in cooperation with the Offices of Parliamentary Counsel and of the Attorney General. It remains my objective under this new approach, and mindful of the competing legislative demands of our EU/IMF/ECB Programme commitments, to be in a position to bring the new Bill to Government for approval and publication later this year.
Finally, and not wishing to go into the details of the Report in question, I would point out, for example, that the independence of the appeals procedure has been upheld by the High Court and subsequently in a recent opinion of the Advocate-General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Case C-175/11).
