Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2024
282. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice the estimated number of asylum applicants who produce documentation confirming their identity at any point during the asylum process for the years 2018 to 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7200/24]
View answerMy Department takes all necessary steps to manage the international protection process efficiently and effectively, while ensuring the integrity of those processes is maintained at all times.
The establishment of an applicant’s identity and nationality is an important feature of every immigration process and this is especially so in the context of persons who enter the Irish State for the purposes of making a claim for international protection.
When a person makes an application for international protection, they are photographed and have their fingerprints taken. These fingerprints are then checked against the EURODAC database, an EU-wide immigration database which stores the fingerprints of asylum applicants and those who have crossed borders illegally.
Any person being considered for a grant of status (refugee status, subsidiary protection or permission to remain) will have a character and conduct check carried out in respect of them before any such status is conferred on them.
In addition to checks specifically on those applying for international protection, every person arriving at a port of entry in the State is subject to a Schengen Information System (SIS) check. In that regard, Ireland sends and receives SIS II information (termed ‘Alerts’) on persons and objects; for example persons wanted by Member States for criminal purposes, missing persons and objects which have been stolen or are wanted as evidence for a judicial purpose.
Information provided by applicants in support of their application, including documents concerning their identity, are recorded as part of the applicants file, but are not stored in a manner which allows detailed data to be extracted in the manner sought by the Deputy.
