Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 11 Feb 1999

Vol. 500 No. 3

Written Answers. - Asylum Applications.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

99 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps, if any, the Government will take to assist further refugees to find safety here until they can return without fear in view of the existing presence of a Kosovo refugee community in Dublin. [3947/99]

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

Section 2 of the Refugee Act, 1996, defines a refugee as a person who "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his or her former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it". Each application is considered on its own merits and where the above definition is met the person is granted refugee status.

In accordance with our international obligations in the asylum area, people entitled under international law to protection are given protection. All applications are processed in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention and as set out in section 2 of the Refugee Act 1996.

There are occasions where the criteria for the granting of refugee status are not met but good reasons exist where the person in question should not be returned to his or her country of origin at the particular point in time. In such an instance, consideration is given to allowing the person temporary permission to remain in the State. I will continue to exercise my discretion in such circumstances in keeping with our international reputation and humanitarian traditions in this regard.