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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 8 Nov 1995

Vol. 457 No. 8

Refugee Bill, 1995: Second Stage (Resumed.)

Question again proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate although I did not anticipate doing so today. I welcome this substantial legislation which is important in an increasingly insecure world where the numbers of refugees are on the increase and are coming closer to home than in previous decades. In the past we tended to see the refugee problem as a Third World or a Middle Eastern problem and certainly one a long distance from here. The fact that the refugee problem has moved to Western Europe has made us more sensitive to this worldwide problem. It is time to upgrade our legislation and move from working under the administrative procedures arising out of our signing of the Convention on Asylum Seekers in 1951, to giving a statutory framework for the treatment and support of people who might seek refuge here.

The passage of this Bill will be a source of great satisfaction to a ministerial colleague of mine, Deputy Donal Carey, who has not been traditionally associated with major legislative reforms. During the past ten years he has constantly raised the individual cases he came across directly as a result of representing the Shannon area. It was often at Shannon that distraught and traumatised refugees seeking asylum found their way into this country and where many received an unfavourable reception. That is what the Bill seeks to respond to and, therefore, it is welcome. It will put on a statutory basis the way in which we propose to treat those seeking asylum in Ireland as well as the rights of our special programme refugees who have additional rights and supports here. The Bill is a full and proper response to our commitments under the convention and clarifies many of the procedures in relation to refugees. It deals with the hearing of applications, the special treatment of family members and an issue which caused many difficulties in individual cases, namely, the question of adequate interpreter services. The Bill goes a long way in that regard.

Detaining asylum seekers in our prisons for long periods of time did not reflect well on this country. While there will be some improvement in this area under the Bill, non-governmental organisations, particularly Amnesty International, continue to be concerned. I hope further reforms will follow if the Bill goes through the House.

The Bill provides for a humanitarian response to the question of refugees which is essential in any civilised society. I recently returned from Sweden which has a long tradition of accepting refugees from Europe. Its commitment in this regard commenced during the period immediately following the Second World War. Many of the people who arrived in Sweden were economic as well as political refugees. Almost 12 per cent of the Swedish population is made up of immigrants and Sweden has a strong tradition of support for asylum seekers. I am glad that Ireland is adopting a more active role in this regard than it did in the past.

Some areas of concern remain in the Bill and Amnesty International, in particular, have identified four or five areas where it would like to see further progress. I wish to refer to those in detail because, while the Bill is welcome, its progress through the House will involve improving it by way of amendments. It is a worth-while experience to be involved in the debate on a Bill from beginning to end, to table various amendments and to have some of them accepted. This is not the type of Bill on which there should be resistance to conceding well made points.

While the proposal to give legal effect to the 1951 Geneva Convention is welcome, I am concerned about certain sections of the Bill. There has been a broad welcome for the new definition of "refugee". I welcome also the grounds for humanitarian leave to remain in the State because it indicates a more open attitude on the part of this country in giving refuge to people fleeing persecution in their countries of origin. It is not always easy to give refuge to asylum seekers in a country with high levels of unemployment and other economic difficulties. To do so, however, is a sign of great maturity and generosity and I am glad the Government and the Irish people are responding favourably to various humanitarian problems around the world.

One of the most important questions that has been raised concerns the treatment of refugees who arrive in Ireland without adequate documentation. We all know from reading novels, Amnesty International documents or newspaper articles that in many cases the only way people can get out of their own countries when fleeing persecution is by forging documents. The importance being attached to documentation in the context of whether a person is detained while their case is being heard is an area of concern to Amnesty International. I hope this matter can be teased out on Committee Stage with a view to resolving the problem.

In regard to legal representation, Amnesty International points out that refugees fleeing their own countries leave in the poorest of circumstances, in some cases with little more than the clothes on their backs. Regardless of their previous financial status in their own country they often arrive here without any resources or access to resources. There are exceptions but this is true in the majority of cases, especially in regard to people most at risk. Their properties may have been confiscated without the possibility of being returned in the foreseeable future. To expect those people to pay their own legal costs will prevent them having access to legal representation which is provided for in the Bill. This is another area to which we must respond.

Amnesty International makes other detailed recommendations to which I hope the Minister will give active consideration; I know correspondence has been sent directly to the Minister. It frequently refers to the question of documentation and makes the point that the provisions in relation to the need for proper documentation do not take account of the plight of refugees. This becomes more relevant in the later sections of the Bill in relation to detention. This is an issue about which we were embarrassed in the past when refugees were detained for long periods in our jails. The occasions on which this is allowed in the future should be limited and lack of documentation, in particular, should not be a reason for detention, as the Bill seems to suggest.

Amnesty International makes further recommendations in relation to the Refugee Appeal Board which are worthy of consideration. It looks forward to the progress of the Bill through the House and the acceptance of further amendments.

When discussing the question of refugees, it is interesting to reflect on the reason for the increase in the number of refugees. Many people become refugees as a result of war or various political upheavals in their own countries. We have witnessed that in a most dramatic and horrendous form in Africa in recent years and also throughout Europe in the past decade. If we are to ensure that refugees eventually return to their own countries, we must examine the causes of the conflicts which force them to become refugees.

One of the critical issues to be addressed is justice in relation to the original problem forcing refugees to flee their own countries. This is currently to the fore in the former Yugoslavia where two former leaders are facing charges on war crimes. Any future for refugees can only be based on a just settlement. Economic instability is another reason for the increase in the number of refugees. That is an issue with which the Minister of State, Deputy Burton, is familiar. If we are to see a reduction in the numbers of refugees in future, the question of the fair distribution of wealth and goods throughout the world must be addressed.

Debate adjourned.
Sitting suspended at 1.30 p.m. and resumed at 2.30 p.m.
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