NGOs criticise Department of Justice over International Protection Bill

Irish NGOs have criticised the Department of Justice and Equality for failing to listen to groups that work with asylum seekers when drawing up the draft International Protection Bill.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald yesterday published draft legislation which she said would reduce the length of time asylum applicants spend in the protection process, including the direct provision system, by establishing a single applications procedure.

The law would also allow An Garda Síochána to enter private dwellings in order to arrest asylum seekers who have been subjected to a deportation order.

Sue Conlan, CEO of the Irish Refugee Council, told Irish Legal News: “The International Protection Bill is noticeable for the lack of inclusion of any recommendations made by organisations that work with asylum seekers and refugees.

“Even recommendations of the Government’s own Working Group on the Protection Process, such as the principle of the best interests of the child, have not apparently been taken on board.”

Ms Conlan’s criticism was echoed by Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre, which said the draft bill did not incorporate any of the recommendations made by Nasc, other NGOs and key stakeholders working in the asylum and protection area.

Fiona Finn, CEO of Nasc, said: “This was absolutely a missed opportunity to ensure that Ireland was operating in line with best practice in Europe and internationally.

“It was also an opportunity to show asylum seekers currently in the country that the Government was serious in its promise to them to significantly improve the protection system.

“We are incredibly disappointed and extremely worried that the Bill falls down in several key areas in ensuring the human rights and equality of asylum seekers, especially children, are protected.”

Fiona Hurley, senior legal officer at Nasc, added: “In particular, Nasc are concerned about the erosion of family reunification rights in the Bill. It is most worrying that at the time of the greatest humanitarian crisis since WWII, the State would seek to limit safe and legal migration routes for non-nuclear family members of refugees and persons eligible for subsidiary protection.”

Both organisations broadly welcomed the Government’s efforts to streamline the asylum process, but said they would be publishing more detailed analyses of the bill in coming days.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) said it believes the best interests principle should be extended to cover all fundamental decision-making in determining the protection entitlements of children, citing conclusions regarding deportation orders as an example.