I should clarify for the Deputy that the persons we are referring to here are failed asylum applicants who are now applicants for subsidiary protection. Subsidiary protection is protection to be granted to a person in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that the person concerned, if returned to his or her country of origin, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm and who is unable or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, and who is not excluded from being eligible for subsidiary protection. As the Deputy may be aware I made new Regulations last year governing the investigation and determination of applications for subsidiary protection in the State. The European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013, which came into effect on 14 November 2013, were made to address certain matters which arose from the judgment of the High Court in January 2013 in the MM case.
Under the new Regulations, responsibility for the processing of applications for subsidiary protection was transferred from my Department to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner with appeals to be dealt with by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Both of these bodies are independent in the exercise of their statutory functions and they have substantial experience in the area of asylum investigations and appeals respectively. As I have said previously, by its very nature, the processing of applications for international protection is a solemn and complex task which does not always lend itself to achieving speedy outcomes. However, now that processing has recommenced and once the new arrangements have bedded down, my aim is for subsidiary protection applications currently on hand to be processed to finality by the statutory bodies concerned in the shortest possible timeframe consistent with quality and fair assessment of all cases and of course, subject to the cooperation of applicants and no further legal impediments arising. In those circumstances I would anticipate very significant inroads to be made on the caseload by the end of 2014.
I fully concur with the Deputy's view that it is important that early legal advice is made available to subsidiary protection applicants. For that reason, I have ensured that the necessary resources have been made available to the Refugee Legal Service (RLS) to provide legal advice and support. Applicants have been advised that they can avail of the services of the RLS. The RLS is an independent body under the aegis of the Legal Aid Board which was established to provide a confidential legal service to persons applying for protection in the State. I would urge subsidiary protection applicants, who do not have access to legal advice to contact the RLS. Alternatively, applicants may seek the services of a private solicitor at their own expense.
Following the commencement of the Regulations, some 3,300 applicants for subsidiary protection were sent a registered letter by INIS to explain the new arrangements and to request them to indicate, by completing the relevant enclosed form, whether they wished to proceed with their application, withdraw their application or make further submissions. Applicants were also requested to confirm the details of their family members and their legal representatives. A comprehensive Information Note explaining the new arrangements and the availability of legal assistance was enclosed with the letter setting out all that was required of applicants. An information note has also been placed on the ORAC website in some 16 languages as well as English. In addition non-governmental organisations involved in this area were also notified of the new arrangements.
The letters issued by INIS informed applicants that, in accordance with the new Regulations, their application could be deemed to be withdrawn if they fail to co-operate with the Commissioner or furnish information relevant to their application. I would recommend that applicants who require further information on the new process should contact the Refugee Applications Commissioner's Office as soon as possible where further information or clarifications can be provided. The Refugee Applications Commissioner has advised that some 1400 of the applicants written to have indicated a wish to continue with their applications, with some 300 applicants indicating their wish to withdraw their applications. The remainder of the registered letters issued have either been returned undelivered or have not been replied to.
I understand that initially, the Refugee Applications Commissioner intends to prioritise applications on the basis of the date of application and, accordingly, applicants have been informed that their personal interview may not be scheduled for a number of months due to the large number of applications to be processed. A panel of legally qualified persons has been established to assist the ORAC with the processing of these cases. Comprehensive training has been provided to the panel by ORAC training experts in close co-operation with protection experts from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
I am pleased to report that interviewing of subsidiary protection applicants commenced in ORAC on 12 December 2013 and that recommendations have begun to issue to applicants. Finally, I should emphasise that all subsidiary protection applicants have permission to remain in the State until a final decision has been made in relation to their application and they have been issued with a status letter by INIS to that effect.
