Written Answers. - Asylum Applications.
Michael D. Higgins
Ceist:
501
Mr. M. Higgins
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
the Government's views on calls by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, IBEC, and the National Organisation of the Unemployed for asylum seekers, whose applications remain unprocessed for a six month period or longer, to be allowed work.
[18748/03]
It is not proposed to allow asylum applicants to take up paid employment pending a final decision being made on their applications.
There are a number of key reasons why I believe that the present policy in relation to access to work by asylum seekers should not be changed.
Section 9(4)(b) of the Refugee Act 1996 as amended provides, inter alia, that an applicant for asylum shall not seek or enter employment. It must also be borne in mind that under the 1996 Act asylum seekers only have temporary permission to remain in the State pending the determination of their applications. However, we must face the fact that despite its humanitarian purpose large numbers of persons are seeking protection under the 1996 Act, which gives effect to the State's obligations under the 1951 Geneva Convention, for the purpose of avoiding legitimate immigration controls in order to gain a foothold in the State for economic reasons. Similar trends are being experienced by other EU states.
I am convinced that any extension of the right to work arrangement would greatly undermine the Government's asylum strategy which is aimed at greatly increasing processing capacity to deliver more speedy decisions in relation to applications for refugee status with a view, in particular to ensuring that new applications are dealt with within six months and increasing the numbers of repatriations which are arising in respect of persons who do not qualify for refugee status.
The current statistics clearly indicate that significant progress continues to be made in relation to the processing of asylum applications and that the increase in processing capacity which has been put in place as part of the Government's asylum strategy is making a real impact on the backlog of cases on hands. This is evidenced by the fact that the number of backlog cases, i.e. cases which are over six months old, on hands in the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal is now down to approximately 1,800. This compares with 6,500 at the end of September 2001. Interviews scheduled by the ORAC for July 2003 include applications made in March and April 2003.
I believe that extending the right to work would have a very negative impact on asylum numbers as was experienced in the aftermath of the July 1999 decision to do so. The immediate effect of that measure was a threefold increase in the average number of applications per month leading to a figure of 1,217 applications in December 1999 compared with an average of 364 per month for the period January to July 1999. This represented the highest ever number of applications received in the State in any month to date.
Any significant increase in applications would also have a significant negative impact on our capacity to accommodate asylum applicants while they are awaiting a determination of their claims. As things stand at the moment, the ongoing provision of services to meet the reception, health and welfare and accommodation needs of asylum seekers is an enormous challenge for all the State agencies which work in this area. The total cost to the Exchequer of the provision of services to asylum seekers was approximately €340 million in 2002.
Any proposal to grant asylum seekers access to the labour market would also undermine the current and effective work permit system which provides a comprehensive channel for legal migration to the State. Some 40,000 work permits were issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in 2002 as compared to 36,000 in 2001 and 18,000 in 2000. As at 31 May 2003 some 18,000 work permits had been issued for 2003.
It is a well established fact that those engaged in trafficking and those seeking to access the labour market without going through the appropriate legal channels are very quick to identify any perceived attractiveness of a country as a preferred or easily accessed destination. It is clear from the profile of applicants and the results of the determination process that a significant number of people have sought asylum in Ireland with a view to seeking work. Many people are already working illegally. It is my very strong belief that any extension of the right to work to all applicants would be portrayed abroad by people traffickers to potential victims as a cast iron guarantee of a right to work.
I firmly believe that the greatest service we can provide to those who should be recognised as refugees is to ensure that their claims are decided speedily and that nothing is done which undermines this policy priority by attracting large numbers of non-genuine applicants to the detriment of genuine applicants. Overloading the process with large numbers of new applicants who come here under the misguided expectation that they will be able to work would be totally contrary to the State's obligations under the Geneva Convention and could completely negate the major investment in effort, time and resources which has gone into bringing our overall strategy to its current status.
