Work on the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill is ongoing at my Department. The Bill, which I propose to introduce this year, should substantially simplify and streamline the existing arrangements for asylum, subsidiary protection and leave to remain applications. It will do this by making provision for the establishment of a single procedure, so that applicants can be provided with a final decision on all aspects of their protection application in a more straightforward and timely fashion.
The new legislation is being prepared in compliance with Ireland’s obligations in the field of international protection which principally includes the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees and the applicable instruments of the Common European Asylum System. In this regard, the EU Asylum Qualification Directive 2004/83/EC provides that Member States shall ensure that family members of the beneficiary of refugee or subsidiary protection status, who do not individually qualify for such status, are entitled to claim certain benefits which are included in the content of international protection set out in Chapter VII of the Directive. These benefits include a residence permit, a travel document and access to employment, education, social welfare, health care and accommodation. The Directive defines family members as including the spouse of the beneficiary of refugee or subsidiary protection status and the minor children of such a couple or of such a beneficiary of refugee or subsidiary protection status. In accordance with the requirements of the Directive these provisions are currently reflected in relevant Irish laws, regulations and administrative provisions. This will continue to be the case under the new legislation.
The Deputy may be aware that I made new Regulations last year governing the investigation and determination of applications for subsidiary protection in the State. The European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013, which came into effect on 14 November 2013, were made to address certain matters which arose from the judgment of the High Court in January 2013 in the MM case. Under the new Regulations, responsibility for the processing of applications for subsidiary protection was transferred from my Department to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner with appeals to be dealt with by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Both of these bodies are independent in the exercise of their statutory functions and they have substantial experience in the area of asylum investigations and appeals, respectively. As I have said previously, by its very nature, the processing of applications for international protection is a solemn and complex task which does not always lend itself to achieving speedy outcomes. However, now that processing has recommenced and once the new arrangements have bedded down, my aim is for subsidiary protection applications currently on hand to be processed to finality by the statutory bodies concerned in the shortest possible timeframe consistent with quality and fair assessment of all cases and of course, subject to the cooperation of applicants and no further legal impediments arising. In those circumstances I would anticipate very significant inroads to be made on the caseload by the end of 2014.
