Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2015
371. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason that contractors have been engaged to work in the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, dealing with refugee determination matters, rather than using civil servants; the way these contractors were selected and appointed; if she will provide a list of the payments made in respect of these contractors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24806/15]
View answerThe use of a panel of legally qualified persons to process subsidiary protection applications has been in place in the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) since late 2013. This followed the transfer from the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department to ORAC of responsibility for processing of these applications under the European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013 (SI No. 426 of 2013) in November, 2013.
The recruitment of the panel was considered necessary to process the cases on hand as quickly as possible, and with a view to moving applicants out of the Direct Provision system. It was considered that the recruitment of a legally qualified panel was the most effective solution due to the volume of cases and the complex nature of the work involved which includes the writing of a legally robust report in each case. While a member of the legal panel processes the case, the decision in respect of each applicant is made by a civil servant.
The panel was established following an open competition involving advertisements in national newspapers, short listing of candidates, the holding of interviews, and the establishing of a list of successful candidates. Comprehensive training has been provided to panel members by the Commissioner in conjunction with the UNHCR to enable them to carry out their duties.
Panel members receive a set fee per case completed with the basic payment for the completion of an interview and report in respect of a principal applicant within the subsidiary protection process set at €330. A fee of €195 applies to the completion of an interview and report in respect of the spouse or partner of a principal applicant, and a further fee of €45 applies to each dependent child of the principal applicant. Commensurate fees have also been set for panel members representing the Commissioner before the Refugee Appeals Tribunal in respect of subsidiary protection appeals.
I am informed by the Commissioner that over 1,800 applicants have had interviews scheduled since December, 2013 and ORAC has made 1,246 determinations to date.
