Vol. 576 No. 5
374 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the European Union directive on asylum seekers, which states that member states shall not forbid applicants and their family members to have access to the labour market more than six months after their application for asylum has been lodged; his views on whether this directive applies to this State; and the steps his Department has taken to comply with it. [29887/03]
It is assumed the Deputy is referring to Council Directive 2003/9/EC of 27 January 2003 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers. This directive is to be transposed into national law by those member states which are party to the directive by 6 February 2005.
Article 11 of the directive deals with the question of access by asylum applicants to the labour market. In particular, it provides that "Member States shall determine a period of time, starting from the date on which an application for asylum was lodged, during which an applicant shall not have access to the labour market." The article also provides, inter alia that if a decision at first instance has not been taken within one year of the presentation of an application and this delay cannot be attributed to the applicant, member states shall decide the conditions for granting access to the labour market for the applicant. The directive is covered by Title IV of the treaty establishing the European Community and the protocol to that treaty on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Ireland is not party to this directive at present.
