Ms Fiona Hurley:

We made a number of recommendations on the right to work in our longer submission. We absolutely agree with Dr. Thornton on introducing a grandfather clause in order to allow people who had been waiting nine months prior to the introduction of the regulations to work. This would not be particularly difficult and it could even be done as a matter in an administrative scheme.

There are a number of practical difficulties. For people with the right to work, that right is relatively broad in comparison with other jurisdictions. For those who have the right, it is good, but there are some small limitations that make a difference. Working in the legal clinics we get quite a few phone calls from employers because they do not understand the piece of paper that people have, as it is quite different from what other non-European Economic Area nationals would have. They ring us for information. There should be an information campaign run by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, perhaps, to educate employers about asylum seekers' right to work. The permission is for six months but most employers do not want to invest in an employee for six months; one would not train somebody in a relatively high-skilled job for a six-month period. If the permission lasted 12 months, it would definitely encourage employers. We explained that the permission is renewable after six months but the six-month duration feels very limited.

There are also practical barriers regarding access to driving licences and bank accounts, and I know these have been mentioned in other hearings as well. This demonstrates the need for multi-agency and multi-departmental involvement in issues relating to international protection applicants. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport could resolve the driving licence issue. It was not a problem years ago and it is something that has happened over approximately the past two years. Many people are living in relatively rural or very small urban settings and there is just no way for them to get to work. They are living in settings that often have low levels of employment and they are very much limited in what they can access. It needs to be resolved so people can enjoy the rights they have.