Vol. 536 No. 2
403 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will report on the asylum application of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13965/01]
The Refugee Act, 1996, as amended by the Immigration Act, 1999, and the Illegal Immigrants Trafficking Act, 2000, was commenced in full on 20 November 2000. Under the Act, two independent statutory offices were established to consider applications-appeals for refugee status and to make recommendations to the Minister on whether such status should be granted. These two offices are the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, which considers applications for a declaration as a refugee at first instance, and the Refugee Appeals Tri bunal, which considers applications for a declaration at appeal stage. A decision on the application in question will be made upon receipt of the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner or the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, as appropriate.
