Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 February 2014
18. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress being made to reduce, to as short as possible, the time spent by persons in direct provision accommodation, particularly in view of the fact that most persons genuinely seeking asylum are dependent on the accommodation provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9665/14]
View answerThe Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department is responsible for the accommodation of protection applicants in accordance with the Government policy of direct provision and dispersal. Direct provision provides for full board accommodation supports while a final decision is awaited by a person on their protection or any related leave to remain application.
The operation of the Direct Provision system is kept under constant review and I have consistently acknowledged that the length of time that residents spend in Direct Provision is an issue to be addressed. I have no desire to have applicants remain in the protection system any longer than the minimum period it takes to process their case. The direct provision system is not ideal but it is a system which facilitates the State providing a roof over the head of persons while their protection or related leave to remain applications are being processed. It allows the State to do it in a manner that facilitates resources being used economically in circumstances where the State is under financial difficulty.
The numbers of asylum seekers residing in direct provision has reduced significantly over the last five years. At the end of December 2013 there were 4,360 residents in direct provision according to RIA's database compared with 6,494 at the end of December 2009. This represents a reduction of 2,134, or 33%, in the number of residents in direct provision in that period. Compared to the numbers residing in direct provision at its highest point in April 2005 (8,080), there has been a reduction of 46% or 3,720 persons in the intervening nine years.
The median processing time to a final decision on an asylum application in 2013 was 36 weeks. Some cases can take significantly longer to complete due to, for example, delays arising from medical issues or because of judicial review proceedings. All asylum applications and appeals are processed in accordance with the Refugee Act 1996 and other relevant statutory provisions. High quality and fair decision-making in all cases continues to be a key priority at all stages of the asylum process.
Persons who are refused refugee status are notified of their entitlement to apply for subsidiary protection. This is separate to the asylum or refugee status determination process.
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. Once the new arrangements have bedded down, my aim is for 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.
Legislative reform in the area of protection remains a key priority. Work on a new Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, which remains part of the Government's Legislative Programme, is being advanced to enable publication later this year. The Bill will provide, inter alia, for the introduction of a single application procedure for the investigation of all grounds for protection and any other grounds presented by applicants seeking to remain in the State. This re-organisation of the protection application processing framework should substantially simplify and streamline the existing arrangements by removing the current multi-layered and sequential processes and provide applicants with a final decision on their application in a more ‘straight forward’ and timely fashion.
