Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 15 Dec 1998

Vol. 498 No. 4

Written Answers. - Asylum Applications.

Nora Owen

Ceist:

402 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of interviews of asylum seekers which have taken place in the past three months; the number of decisions made based on these interviews; the number of staff including interpreters involved in this regard; and when the backlog of applications will be cleared. [27824/98]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

The information sought by the Deputy is set out as follows:

	Sept.	Oct.	Nov.
Total interviews held	256	191	260
Decisions made during the month of which — granted— refused	191	166	210
(3)	(20)	(22)
(188)	(146)	(188)

It should be noted that these decisions do not relate to interviews held during the month. The records in my Department are not maintained in such a way as to enable the information sought be extracted within the time available. A computerised case tracking database system is being developed which will enable this type of information to be more readily accessible. However, the exact details will be forwarded directly to the Deputy within two weeks.

Thirty seven persons are involved in conducting substantive interviews of asylum seekers within the Asylum Division of my Department including 25 retired public servants recruited as part-time contractors who represent 15 full-time posts. There are no interpreters on my staff, however, the services of independent and qualified interpreters are availed of when required.

It is difficult to assess the actual average time from start to finish of the asylum determination process. However, it is my hope that with the additional staff recruited to my Department's Asylum Division, the new Refugee Legal Service and the three appeals Authorities considered appeals in the Refugee Applications Centre, Mount Street from early in 1999 onwards, new cases will be finalised in a matter of months. I am of course concerned that every effort should be made to deal with outstanding cases. With this in mind, my Department has concentrated on ensuring that the oldest applications are given priority in scheduling cases from the backlog of interview, while simultaneously dealing with new applicants as soon as possible after their arrival in the State.