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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 25 Nov 1998

Vol. 497 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Asylum Seekers' Driving Licences.

In recent days asylum seekers applied to local authorities for a driving licence and were informed that they would not be granted one. In one county the local authority indicated that not only would the asylum seeker's driving licence be refused but licences currently held by other asylum seekers would be revoked.

Responsibility for this ruling was laid by the local authorities in question at the door of the Department of the Environment and Local Government. While it is clear that a written directive was not received, it was also clear that the Department had instructed local authorities in early November to refuse such applications. In one case we are talking about families who are living almost two miles from any shops or other social contacts and where there is no public transport. Irish friends offered to provide them with a vehicle and insurance cover. The asylum seekers had driving licences from their own country. All that was required was a provisional driving licence to be granted to them in Ireland. One can imagine their shock when they were refused a licence by the local authority.

Until recently, it has been common practice for asylum seekers to be granted provisional licences. When I investigated the matter, the Department of the Environment and Local Government appeared unclear about its position, yet at local level I received confirmation that there had been a clear change of policy. The proof of this change is irrefutable. It is in the experience of asylum seekers who are now being turned away and refused a licence to drive a vehicle.

The Department indicated to me that if an asylum seeker had a green book, he or she would be able to get a licence. However, I understand a green book is evidence of residency. If one has a green book, one does not need to apply for asylum. In any case, it is a minor miracle if one has a green book these days. One family went as far as going on hunger strike because for 12 months they had been denied a green book despite their clear right to one.

Insisting that asylum seekers need a green book before they can get a driving licence is similar to saying that one could have jam yesterday and have jam tomorrow but not today. Nobody has any difficulty with the principle that an asylum seeker needs to be in Ireland for six months before he or she qualifies for a licence. Given the long waiting time, that qualification is not onerous by any means.

However, the refusal to grant licences in recent times is a measure to constrain and constrict further the lives of asylum seekers. It was done quietly and casually and might not even have been exposed but for the fact that, despite the isolation of asylum seekers, there are Irish people who reach out a hand to them and acknowledge them as humans with the same needs and rights as us. Fortunately, these people went public and, as a result, I am convinced that this blockage is being removed.

As a result of the issue being highlighted, the Department has been forced to think again. I hope the intention is to open up once more the system of granting driving licences. However, I am raising the issue because it is important that the decision is put on the public record. Too often the treatment of asylum seekers at official level has been hallmarked by secrecy and injustice. For example, we are still waiting for the basic right to legal representation from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Last year, all parties in the House passed a resolution urging the full implementation of the Refugee Act, yet the Government has stubbornly refused to comply. Meanwhile, racism and prejudice are on the rise.

Let us remember that these people have a right to be in Ireland until their claim is processed. They have a right to social supports and we have a duty to comply with our international obligations to provide them. It is horrific that the spirit of these obligations is being so blatantly flouted. It appears the Government is intent on making the lives of these people as miserable and restricted as possible while they are with us. Asylum seekers are prevented from working and contributing. They are prevented from integrating. The official mindset determines that, in particular, young men who are well able and qualified to work are left to idle away their days, isolated from the social context of the world of work.

They are prevented from contributing to our society although there is a wide consensus extending from IBEC to ICTU to the INOU that they should be allowed to do so. They are prevented from studying in Ireland and now the controls are being ratcheted up to deny them even the freedom to drive a car. This is petty and vindictive. It is at variance with the general view among the public that we have a long history of emigration which obliges us to show humanity when it comes to dealing with those who are seeking refuge with us. Many of these people will not succeed in their desire to live and work among us. Some will succeed. Regardless of the outcome, while they are in Ireland asylum seekers are entitled to be treated humanely and decently. Even if common decency does not wield the authority that it should over the Government, international law demands it of us. I look forward to the Minister stating unequivocally that the practice of unfairly excluding asylum seekers from holding a driving licence is now ended.

I thank Deputy McManus for raising this issue. My colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Molloy, is unable to be present to respond to the matter and he asked me to do so on his behalf.

There has been a deal of misinformation circulating on this matter in recent days. The Department of the Environment and Local Government has not issued directives to local authorities in relation to the treatment of asylum seekers for the purposes of driving licence applications and neither has it attempted to revoke anybody's driving licence. It has not and cannot do so since revocation of licences is a function of the courts only.

Local authorities are responsible for the issuing of driving licences in accordance with relevant national regulations and EU directives. The Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations, 1989, require a birth certificate to accompany applications for provisional driving licences. A local authority may also seek evidence of identity from applicants.

EU requirements are that member states should issue driving licences only to persons normally resident or studying in a country. Normal residence for this purpose is indicated by a stay of at least six months. The European Commission and member states are entitled to expect conscientious administration of these provisions at national level as full national driving licences are mutually recognised and exchangeable throughout the EU.

Subject only to the necessary conditions regarding age, normal residence and identity, the driver licensing system is designed to treat all applicants equally and without discrimination. If there is any suspected or substantiated case to the contrary, the Department will be prepared to have it investigated and, if necessary, rectified.

As a matter of practical administration and to facilitate refugees who may not have ready access to the required documentation, local authorities already issue provisional driving licences to nonnationals, including refugees, who possess the green registration book issued by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Local authorities are not concerned with the administration of immigration controls as such. Accordingly, if reasonable proof of meeting the necessary driving licence conditions can be given in some other way, this should also be acceptable.

It is not within the power of a local authority or the Department of the Environment and Local Government to effect a legal revocation of a driving licence. This is a function reserved to the courts. Further to extensive inquiries with local authorities, it has so far been revealed that one local authority mistakenly sought to revoke one licence issued to an asylum seeker. This local authority has been instructed to return the licence to the individual concerned.

In most cases, persons arriving in Ireland who already hold either a national driving licence or an international driving permit are entitled to drive in Ireland for up to one year following arrival. Persons coming to this country who do not hold a driving licence may, upon becoming residents and subject to the age conditions involved, apply for a provisional driving licence. It is not the policy of the Department of the Environment and Local Government to deny asylum seekers or refugees resident in this country the opportunity to learn how to drive.

In view of difficulties which have been reported recently, the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, will ensure active liaison between his Department and local authorities on this matter and full clarification and promulgation of the policy I outlined. I trust this explains the position to the satisfaction of the Deputy and the House. The Deputy may be assured that the Government is totally committed to ensuring that equality of treatment prevails for all people resident on the island at all times.

The Dáil adjourned at 6.50 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 26 November 1998.

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