Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2017
555. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated cost of abolishing the system of direct provision allowing asylum seekers the right to work; and the estimated cost of providing them with full access to all social protection benefits, as necessary. [36837/17]
View answerThe Supreme Court in the matter of N.V.H v. The Minister for Justice and Equality, delivered in May of this year its judgment on the right of access to the labour market for those seeking international protection in Ireland.
Clearly, this is an important judgment and its potential implications, which also extend to other Government Departments, are being examined carefully. The Court itself recognises the complexities around this issue in that it acknowledges the Executive function in not only controlling who should enter the State but also to regulate the activities of non-citizens while in the State and has had to consider the distinctions of rights between citizens and non-citizens in the context of Article 40.1 of the Constitution. The Court has concluded that in an international protection system with no temporal limit on the decision making process, an absolute prohibition on the right to work is contrary to the right to seek employment under the Constitution. The Court recognises that this a matter for the Executive and Legislature to consider and accordingly has adjourned consideration of the Order the Court should make for a period of six months. The State will make submissions to the Court in relation to the format of the Order at the appropriate time. In the interim, the legal status as regards access to the labour market for international protection applicants remains unchanged, as set out in Section 16(3)(b) of the International Protection Act.
A whole of Government approach has been adopted to examine the implications of the judgment and to propose appropriate solutions as quickly as possible. With the approval of Government, I have established an Inter-Departmental Taskforce to undertake this work. As part of their deliberations, the Taskforce is examining the implications that granting access to the labour market will have on those applicants who have accepted the offer of Direct Provision and for those who have chosen to remain outside the Direct Provision system with regard to other State services. The Taskforce is also examining the cost implications for the implementation of any proposed solutions including impacts on welfare, housing, education and training, health care, etc.
In many EU Member States, the right to work is not an unfettered right for applicants, often arising after a particular period of time, usually 9 months to a year. In many instances access may be limited to particular job categories or may lead to the withdrawal of other financial supports. All of these matters are being carefully considered by the Taskforce as to their impact and to reflect the existing requirements placed on other Third Country Nationals who come to Ireland as lawful economic migrants. The Taskforce will report back to Government shortly, once it has completed its deliberations.
