Vol. 480 No. 2
296 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the amount of asylum seekers and refugees arriving in this country; the arrangements, if any, in place to deal with the people involved; the new arrangements, if any, he is proposing to deal with this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13681/97]
Persons arriving in this country as refugees have generally been invited here as part of a programme on foot of Government decisions. Questions regarding those programme refugees are a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
As regards those who arrive in the State and seek asylum, the arrangements are briefly as follows: application may be made to an immigration officer by a person arriving at a port of entry, or directly to the Department if the person is within the country; an in-depth interview is arranged whereby the applicant, with the aid of an interpreter, where necessary, can give my Department full details relevant to the application. Written material may also be submitted in support of an application; my Department may consult with UNHCR in any case, and does so in each case where it is proposed to refuse an application; the Minister makes a decision in each case in accordance with the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the status of refugees; where a decision not to grant refugee status is made, the applicant is informed of the right to appeal the decision to an interim appeals authority and a person is not removed from the State until there has been an opportunity to present a full case and a final decision has been reached on it.
Since 25 June 1997, a modification of these arrangements is in place in relation to persons travelling from Great Britain and Northern Ireland who seek asylum on arrival in Ireland. By agreement with the authorities there, such persons may be returned, following a decision in each case by an officer of my Department, and their applications dealt with there. In each such case, the United Kingdom authorities and the UNHCR are notified.
The rising number of asylum applications is a source of concern to me, in particular as regards the impact on State services dealing with welfare, housing, healthcare and so forth. I am reviewing the entire situation, in conjunction with my Cabinet colleagues with responsibilities in these areas, with a view to taking whatever measures are required to deal quickly and fairly with asylum applicants.
