Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2021
88. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice the steps her Department is taking to improve processing times for applications for asylum, leave to remain and associated permissions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37158/21]
View answerThis question relates to the delays that are inherent in the processing of applications from asylum seekers in the State. The situation was outlined perfectly by the Irish Refugee Council when it stated, "Four and half years since the commencement of the International Protection Act 2015 and the introduction of a single application procedure in 2017, the Irish system remains fraught with administrative delays and substantial backlog."
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. For people in the international protection process, the Government's objective is to have decisions made on their applications, including permission to remain, as soon as possible. This ensures that those who are found to be in need of our protection can receive it quickly and begin rebuilding their lives here in Ireland with a sense of safety and security.
I am conscious of the difficulties and trauma encountered by people who seek international protection and I am glad that, throughout the pandemic, my Department's International Protection Office, IPO, has remained open to allow people the opportunity to do so in line with our international obligations. The provision of the facility to allow people claim international protection is considered an essential service at all times, including during Covid-19. Staff have worked both on-site and remotely since the pandemic began to ensure the protection process continues to operate and I am grateful to them for their dedication throughout this period. I visited the IPO last week to see first-hand the work that is being done and had an opportunity to speak with some staff and customers.
Physical attendance in the office has been strictly limited in line with public health guidance. Ensuring the safety of applicants, legal representatives and staff has resulted in additional logistical challenges that have limited the processing of applications and efforts to improve processing times, including the target set to make first-instance decisions in the vast majority of cases within nine months. Despite these challenges, 2,276 applications for international protection were processed to completion last year, which was just under 67% of the total achieved in 2019.
My Department's main focus now is to get its processing system functioning as effectively and efficiently as possible, while adhering to all measures in place to combat the spread of Covid-19. My Department is committed to implementing the key recommendations in the expert advisory group report to reduce processing times of both first-instance decisions and appeals to six months, as outlined in the White Paper to end direct provision and establish a new international protection support service.
What the Minister of State said sounds very good but, unfortunately, that is all it does. The Department has outlined that it wants to process applications within nine months. What the Minister of State failed to mention in his reply is that the median processing time for all cases processed to completion by the international protection office in quarter 1 2021 was 22.2 months. It took 16.1 months for prioritised cases. That means refugees who have to appeal an initial decision could be waiting for approximately three and a half years from the date of application for protection until approval that they can reunify with their families. That is the reality of the situation.
Some 1,655 applicants were awaiting a decision on appeal as of February 2021. In March 2021, 2,646 individuals were waiting between 12 and 24 months for first-instance decisions and 1,345 were waiting more than 24 months. That is the reality. It is not all down to the pandemic, although it provides a convenient excuse.
The Deputy is correct in the statistics he provides. There were significant delays even pre Covid. Covid has exacerbated the situation in a period when there was an intention to reduce the time for processing applications. However, processes are being put in place to ensure that we can meet the requirements that are set out both in the White Paper and our internal requirements to process these applications as quickly as possible. I made a visit last week to the IPO to see exactly how the processes were working in the real world, if you like, in those offices. I have taken a hands-on approach to ensure we can get those timelines down as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, the real world is not in the IPO. The real world is that experienced by the asylum seekers who must live under the system in this State. That is appalling. For people to have to spend as long as they have spent trying to get their cases heard is wrong. It is important that we put the words of the people concerned on the record. One said, "I came to Ireland to seek to protection, my problems are not listen[ed to] for 22 months". Another said, "I am so depressed and frustrated since I don't have a legal stay here and have never had any interview since 2019 up to date." That is the reality of the situation with which people are living under the system.
I urge the Minister of State to take on board the report launched yesterday by the Refugee Council, Hanging on a Thread. The report makes recommendations as to how the processing of applications can be improved. I ask him to take those recommendations on board and implement them to speed up and streamline the process because it needs it badly.
I will give serious consideration to that report and how we can speed up the process. There is nothing in what the Deputy has said with which I can disagree. There have been long delays for a considerable time. We need to clear that backlog and get down to a quick, speedy and effective system for these people, many, if not all, of whom have been through serious traumatic experiences in their lives. The delays are unacceptable. The Department is putting processes in place to ensure that these decisions can be made as quickly as possible. We must get the timelines down to the clear, set targets. The Department will be held accountable for those targets and I intend to ensure those targets are met over the coming period.
