Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1540. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice the current policy of the State whereby someone arrives in the State seeking asylum but has travelled from a safe country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40136/22]
View answerUnder Section 72 of the International Protection Act 2015, a country may only be designated as a safe country of origin where satisfied that, on the basis of the legal situation, the application of the law within a democratic system and the general political circumstances, it can be shown that there:
- is generally and consistently no persecution;
- no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and
- no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.
In making the assessment, it must be taken into account, among other things, the extent to which protection is provided against persecution or mistreatment by:
- The relevant laws and regulations of the country and the manner in which they are applied.
- The observance of the rights and freedoms laid down in specified European and International Conventions.
- Respect for the principle of non-refoulement in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
- Provision for a system of effective remedies against violation of those rights and freedoms.
The assessment must be based on a range of sources of information, including from other EU Member States, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Council of Europe and other international organisations as appropriate.
My Department draws from the relevant published reports of a range of bodies in this regard, which provide information on the state of play in the country under review. If an applicant for international protection is from a country designated as a safe country of origin, their application will still receive a full consideration on its merits by the International Protection Office of my Department. Regardless of an applicant’s country of origin, each applicant for international protection is carefully interviewed and each case is individually assessed by experienced caseworkers.
Under section 72 of the International Protection Act 2015, and the International Protection Act 2015 (Safe Countries of Origin) Order 2018 (Statutory Instrument no 121 of 2018), the following countries were designated as safe countries of origin with effect from 16 April 2018:
- Albania;
- Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Georgia;
- Kosovo;
- Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of);
- Montenegro;
- Serbia; and
- South Africa.
If the recommendation of an International Protection Officer is that the applicant should be given neither a refugee declaration nor a subsidiary protection declaration and includes the finding that they are from a safe country of origin, an appeal can be lodged in writing within 10 working days to the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT). Unless the IPAT considers it is not in the interests of justice to do so, it shall make its decision in relation to the appeal without holding an oral hearing.
Finally, the Deputy may wish to be aware that work is underway in my Department on the establishment of an accelerated decision-making process for international protection applicants from safe countries of origin.
