I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INS) that the vast majority of the information requested by the Deputy is published in the Annual Reports of the various bodies concerned as well as in the Department’s Annual Reports. For ease of reference the links to the relevant sections of the websites of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal as well as links to the Department’s own annual Reports are as follows:
- Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner: http://www.orac.ie/website/orac/oracwebsite.nsf/page/publications-main-en
- Refugee Appeals Tribunal: http://www.refappeal.ie/website/rat/ratweb.nsf/page/about_the_tribunal-en
- Justice Annual Report 2010 http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/DJLR%20Annual%20Report%202010.pdf/Files/DJLR%20Annual%20Report%202010.pdf
- Justice Annual Report 2008 http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Annual%20Report%202008.pdf/Files/Annual%20Report%202008.pdf
Figures for 2012 not already included will be provided in the relevant Annual reports when published. The information requested by the Deputy in respect of the Ministerial Decision Unit has recently been provided in response to PQ 692 of 11 June 2013. It should be noted that the recommendation from the ORAC or RAT is accepted in the vast majority of these cases. However, the figures for any particular year will vary from the ORAC and RAT figures because of timing differences i.e. a recommendation made by ORAC or RAT at the end of the year will be recorded in that year's figures by the ORAC or RAT, while the decision by the Ministerial Decision Unit may not be made until the following year and thus recorded in that year. Information in relation to the number of people who have been resettled in Ireland on the UNHCR resettlement programme is provided in Appendix 1.
The Deputy should note that the processing of cases at the repatriation stage is a complex one with obligations to adhere to both domestic and international laws and jurisprudence, and to make decisions in accordance with the UN Convention on Human Rights. This involves cases finalised
through the granting of Subsidiary Protection, the granting of permission to remain under a number of different headings (including under EU Treaty Rights, through marriage to an Irish national or under family reunification provisions), the making of deportation orders and the voluntary repatriation, formally and informally, of many of the persons involved. Other cases cannot be finalised owing to the existence of judicial review proceedings while a further cohort of cases will clearly remain to be decided. Pending the enactment and commencement of the new legislation and with a view to improving processing in the area of international protection, I am proposing to introduce new arrangements for the processing of subsidiary protection applications in light of recent judgments in the Superior Courts. My Department, in consultation with the Attorney General's Office, is developing a new legislative and administrative framework for the processing of current and future subsidiary protection applications. This work is being given high priority and applicants will be advised of the new arrangements as soon as possible.
Appendix 1:
UNHCR Resettlement Programme – Number of Persons
|
Year
|
Number of Persons
|
|
2003
|
50
|
|
2004
|
58
|
|
2005
|
115
|
|
2006
|
184
|
|
2007
|
114
|
|
2008
|
101
|
|
2009
|
192
|
|
2010
|
20
|
|
2011
|
45
|
|
2012
|
49
|
|
Total
|
928
|
