Ms Fiona Finn:

I thank the committee for giving me the opportunity to make a presentation to it.

Nasc has over two decades of experience in supporting refugees and beneficiaries of international protection in applying for family reunification. In 2017 we provided for 347 consultations on family reunification for refugees. A total of 43 of our clients who were beneficiaries of international protection were successful in their applications to bring family members to Ireland. Our contribution today is directly informed by the issues that present at our legal clinics and in our direct work with refugees who are seeking to be reunited with family members.

Since the commencement of the International Protection Act 2015 at the end of 2016, Nasc has seen at first hand the impact the restrictions on family reunification has had on refugees. In particular, both the time limits and the removal of dependent family members have caused fierce hardship for the refugee families with whom we work. The affected individuals are not able to fully settle into their lives here knowing that their family members remain in conflict zones or at risk of persecution. We have seen families split up because only some family members are eligible. We have seen individuals descend into deep depression because they are forced to leave family members at home in the midst of horrific conditions. We adamantly believe modest but critical amendments to the International Protection Act 2015 would go some significant way towards improving the lives of refugees living in Ireland and help to fulfil our obligations to support people who are seeking safety in Europe.

I recognise and commend the Minister of State at the Department of Justice Equality, Deputy Stanton, for his commitment and dedication to providing solutions for refugees through the Irish refugee protection programme and initiatives such as Irish humanitarian visa programme and refugee community sponsorship. I commend him for his statement in the Dáil on 6 December in which he confirmed the Government’s commitment to proactively assisting family reunification. It seems, therefore, that we have achieved broad consensus and that our views may not be as divergent as they first appear.

During the debates in the Seanad and the Dáil the Minister of State raised a number of concerns which I would like to address. Concerns were raised that the current proposals would legally oblige the State to reserve resources for unquantifiable numbers of potential applicants. It must be noted that the Bill only provides the right for refugees to apply for some extended family members. This right, as is the case with all rights, is not absolute and not open-ended. It is highly conditional. It is further limited by the fact that sponsors are required to prove that the subjects of the application are dependent on them or that they are suffering from a mental or physical disability to such an extent that it is not reasonable for them to maintain themselves fully. All applicants must provide evidence and documentation of a very high level to support any application.

In any one year between 2014 and 2016, inclusive, under the family reunification provisions contained in the 1996 Refugee Act which allows an application to be made in respect of extended family members, only between 200 and 400 family members were granted family reunification. There were 229 in 2014, 328 in 2015 and 406 in 2016, with an average of 2.8 family members per sponsor. They are not overwhelming or unmanageable numbers and provide us with a very solid basis to quantify the numbers of potential future applicants.

In our experience, refugee families prioritise their more vulnerable family members who, for the most part, are their older unmarried children or their parents. They also tend to wait until they have secured housing and employment prior to submitting an application in respect of extended family members because they want to be ready for them when they come. This further illustrates the need for the removal of the 12-month time limit.

Since the new Act has been in place, only 272 persons have been approved for family reunification. This is a very low number and one that should cause us some shame given the scale of the current global refugee crisis. We can and must do more to provide durable solutions for these families and this modest proposal in the Bill will help to undo the harm and suffering that has been caused to refugees. We must also be mindful and guided by Article 41.1.1° of the Constitution, which "recognises the Family as the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society, and as a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law" and guarantees its protection by the State. This Bill is giving clear effect to both the spirit and text of this constitutional provision.

During the debates, it was argued that this provision would substantially curtail the State’s ability to respond to ongoing and future crises. There is nothing in this modest provision that in any way curtails the State's ability to respond to ongoing and future crises. This is evidenced by the fact that during the lifetime of the old Refugee Act, which contained the broader definition of family, the Government introduced the first humanitarian admission programme for Syrian refugees and nationals living in Ireland. We would also submit that by broadening the definition of family, it would see a reduction in the need for and additional cost of operating once-off ad hoclimited schemes such as the current Irish humanitarian admissions programme. The introduction of broad, clear and rights-based family reunification laws brings with its certainty for both the State and refugees. The fact that the Government introduced the humanitarian admissions programme, laudable as that was, which afforded a limited number of refugees and Irish nationals the ability to apply for extended family members, could be viewed as a clear admission by the Government that our current family reunification law and policy are inadequate and in need of reform.

During the debates, claims were also made that the Minister for Justice and Equality proactively applies discretionary permission under the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, non-EEA policy document on family reunification. Unfortunately, that has not been Nasc's experience of supporting families to apply for visas for their loved ones. In the Department of Justice and Equality's policy document on family reunification for non-EEA nationals, it is stated that the "default position" for applications for visas for elderly parents is "a refusal". It is difficult to see how a policy with such a harsh default position could be construed as a viable alternative for refugees seeking to be reunited with family members. It also requires persons who wish to apply for a visa for elderly parents to have income - after taxes and deductions - for three successive years in excess of €60,000 to apply for one parent and €75,000 to apply for two parents. Realistically, this allows for only the wealthiest in our society to even make an application. Even then with substantial earnings, applications may still be refused. It is simply unrealistic to expect that a person newly granted international protection status will be in a position to earn anywhere near these income thresholds.

The Minister also noted that the current limited provisions are in line with the EU family reunification directive. First, when considering the directive, it is critical to note that, as Mr. Henderson noted, we have not opted into it but, additionally, this is a unified document that provides a legal basis for both refugee and non-refugee family reunification and sets down minimum standards for member states to implement. On its face and when viewed in isolation, the current definition of family falls within the minimum standard set out in the directive. However, we should look at the directive as whole and in particular, the preamble which sets out the clear purpose and objective of the directive. It provides that:

Special attention should be paid to the situation of refugees on account of the reasons which obliged them to flee their country and prevent them from leading a normal family life there. More favourable conditions should therefore be laid down for the exercise of their right to family reunification.

Also, the directive provides more favourable family reunification rights for unaccompanied minors, granting them the right to reunite with their legal guardian. It provides member states with clear guidelines on extended family members stating positively which family members member states may include. Additionally, it sets down clear time limits for the processing of applications and grants family members an autonomous residency permission and provides in law for the right of family reunification for non-refugees, all of which are absent in our current family reunification laws. It is, therefore somewhat disingenuous to state that Ireland is in compliance with the directive when we have cherry-picked certain limited provisions to justify a removal of the rights for refugees to apply to reunite with extended family members.

Concerns were also expressed that we cannot go beyond EU norms. However, a 2016 report on family reunification in the EU compiled by the European Migration Network on behalf of the European Commission highlighted the fact the average percentage of permits issued by member states for family members was 30%. Ireland came in second last at 7% just ahead of Poland, so it would seem that we have some way to go before we are in line with current EU norms, let alone exceeding them.

It is overwhelmingly clear in Nasc's experience that refugee families rarely fit into nuclear family arrangements, and the precariousness of life in the midst of conflict means that our understanding of what constitutes family cannot be overly rigid or prescribed. In our work, we have come across any number of refugees who are now forced to make "Sophie's Choice" type decisions when applying for family reunification. One woman had to decide whether to apply for her husband because he was the sole carer of her elderly and unwell mother who would not be eligible. One man applied for his minor daughter but was not eligible to apply for that daughter’s child, his grandchild, who was born as a result of rape. An aged out minor, so-called, who has waited years for his application for refugee status to be processed in Ireland is now not eligible to be reunited with his parents and siblings. These are the real unintended consequences of our current laws. What becomes clear from working day in and day out with beneficiaries of international protection is that there are no norms as to how human lives operate in the context of persecution, war and displacement.

As part of our membership bid for the UN Security Council 2021 to 2029, Ireland placed empathy as one of our core pillars. The campaign brochure recalls "the great compassion and open doors shown around the world to Irish emigrants fleeing famine as they sought refuge". It then goes on to state that "we reflect on that as we work to assist today's refugees". We would ask members here today to reflect upon this and upon the impact the erosion of family rights has had upon refugees and how this modest proposal will go some way to ameliorating the harshness of our current law.