Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 33 together.

The direct provision system is managed by the Reception and Integration Agency, RIA, of my Department. Its function is to provide accommodation and related services to those who have sought international protection and who have no means of supporting themselves otherwise. More than 53,000 such persons have availed of RIA's services to date. Currently, there are over 4,300 residents in 34 centres across the State under contract to RIA. The numbers of asylum seekers residing in direct provision has reduced significantly in the past five years. In the period end December 2008 to end December 2013, the number of persons being accommodated by RIA declined by 37%. Expenditure by RIA in 2013 was €55.2 million. A breakdown of this expenditure, as well as for preceding years, is available in the RIA annual reports which are published on its website.

The operation of the direct provision system is kept under review and I have consistently acknowledged that the length of time that residents spend in direct provision is an issue to be addressed. I have no desire to have applicants remain in the protection system any longer than the minimum period it takes to process their case. The direct provision system is not ideal, but it is a system which facilitates the State providing a roof over the head of those seeking asylum or seeking other grounds to be allowed, on a humanitarian basis, to stay in the State. It allows the State to do it in a manner that facilitates resources being used economically in circumstances where the State is under financial difficulty.

A comprehensive review on the operation of the asylum seeker accommodation programme was carried out and the subsequent report, Value for Money and Policy Review - Asylum Seeker Accommodation Programme, which was published in May 2010, found that there are no cheaper alternatives to the direct provision system.

No Government can afford to ignore the likely consequences of any change to the system. The system cannot exist solely in its own context. It is inextricably linked to the surrounding international protection process. By its nature, the processing of applications for international protection is a solemn and complex task which does not always lend itself to achieving speedy outcomes. The time needed to determine the outcome of any legal proceedings also impacts on the length of the process. A substantial proportion of cases - this may not be understood - in the High Court relate to judicial review proceedings taken or decisions reached in the international protection area and a substantial number of those in direct provision are engaged in such cases having failed in their applications to be granted asylum or to be allowed to remain in the State for other reasons.

My resolve is to deal with the factors which lead to delays in the processing of cases so that asylum seekers spend as little time as is necessary in the direct provision system. To that end, the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010, which I will re-publish in a reformed draft later this year, should substantially simplify and streamline the existing arrangements for asylum, subsidiary protection and leave-to-remain applications. Recently, I also signed into law new regulations relating to the processing of subsidiary protection applications which aim to ensure that applications are 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 co-operation of applicants and no further legal impediments arising.

In relation to the naturalisation aspect of this query, it should be noted that asylum seekers do not satisfy the residency requirements for naturalisation as their residency is not deemed reckonable. If a person is successful in the asylum process, he or she may apply for a certificate of naturalisation when he or she is in a position to meet the statutory residency requirements. The number of refugees naturalised since March 2011 is approximately 3,200.

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