Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 July 2018
226. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to outline his plans to remove the unconstitutional ban on asylum seekers' right to work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28942/18]
View answerOn 27 June last, the Minister of State with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration, and Integration, David Stanton TD, and I announced measures providing for enhanced access to the labour market for qualified protection applicants in Ireland with the entry into force of the EU (recast) Reception Conditions Directive.
I am delighted that the Government has approved a broad and generous access to the labour market for qualified applicants amongst a number of other important reforms in a range of areas covered by the Directive including reception conditions for applicants, improved identification of vulnerability and children’s rights. These measures are a further step on the road we have pursued in recent years to significantly reform our protection process.
Effective access to the labour market will help to alleviate social and economic exclusion for applicants and avoid long-term dependency on the State. Asylum seekers will have access to additional means to provide for themselves and their families outside of the State’s directly provided services and supports while their application is being determined. Moreover, Ireland is one of the few EU Member States to allow eligible asylum seekers to also engage in self-employment.
Our accommodation centres will now be put on a statutory basis and an applicant with sufficient earnings may choose to provide their own accommodation in the future. For those who will be granted protection, this will of course assist their early integration into our society and communities. For those who are found not to have a protection need, it provides an opportunity to receive an income, which will help them in their reintegration to their home country to rebuild their lives there.
In May 2017, the Supreme Court found that an absolute ban on the right to seek employment for asylum seekers, where there was no time limit in the decision making process, was unconstitutional. The Government availed of this opportunity to broaden the scope of reform required and committed Ireland, with the approval of the Oireachtas, to opting-in to the EU (recast) Reception Conditions Directive 2013, thereby aligning our position with EU norms and standards. The Directive lays down the standards for the reception of international protection applicants while their application is being determined. Under the Directive, asylum seekers will have access to the labour market nine months from the date when their protection application was lodged, if they have yet to receive a first instance recommendation from the International Protection Office and have cooperated with the process.
Eligible applicants may apply to the Labour Market Access Unit (LMAU) of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS), for a labour market permission (which covers both employment and self-employment). The permission will be granted to eligible applicants for six months and will be renewable until there is a final decision on their protection application. Eligible applicants will have access to all sectors of employment, with the exception of the Civil and Public Service, An Garda Síochána, and the Irish Defence Forces.
An information campaign is being launched to ensure that applicants, employers, trade unions, NGOs and all other relevant bodies are fully informed of the labour market access and eligibility arrangements that will apply. Full details and an application form will also be available on the INIS website: www.inis.gov.ie.
