Vol. 540 No. 1
440 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the fact that no decision has been made on the application for refugee status by a person (details supplied) in County Wexford since he indicated in reply to a previous parliamentary question that a decision would be made within a matter of weeks; if he will make a decision on this application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20045/01]
The Deputy will be aware that under the Refugee Act, 1996, as amended, which was commenced in full on 20 November 2000, responsibility for processing asylum applications at first instance lies with the Refugee Applications Commissioner and with the Refugee Appeals Tribunal for appeals. A final decision on any given case can only be made by me upon receipt of a recommendation from the relevant body.
With regard to the application for refugee status, from information made available to me by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, I understand that the interview originally scheduled for this applicant was postponed in March 2001 due to movement restrictions arising from the foot and mouth crisis and that he will be rescheduled for interview shortly. With regard to the applications for leave to remain, I can now inform the Deputy that the person in question has been granted permission to remain in the State as the parent of an Irish citizen. This permission has been granted for a period of 12 months initially. His application for permission to remain as the spouse of an EEA national exercising her right to reside here will be finalised shortly.
