Mr. Stephen Kirwan:

I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to discuss the Law Society's recommendations on the White Paper on direct provision and related matters concerning international protection. The Law Society welcomed the publication of the White Paper in February of this year and the Government's commitment to ending direct provision and creating a new system grounded in the principles of human rights and respect for diversity, privacy and family life. The society has advocated for an end to the non-statutory system of direct provision for many years and has recommended the introduction of an alternative system to accommodate and support those seeking international protection in the State. Key to any discussion on an alternative system is the need to address practical concerns over the present system. Doing so is, of course, a vital component in improving that system.

I understand my written submission is due to be published on the Oireachtas website so I do not plan on going through the various points that are addressed in it in any great detail. I will, however, provide a brief summary for the members who are here today. The first aspect in the submission is the question of benefiting from legal advice at an early stage. This is mentioned in the White Paper as a target for completion. It has been discussed frequently. The goal, in the Law Society's view, is to ensure that legal advice is routinely provided as early as reception stage. Given the administrative pressures that are currently on law centres and private practitioners, it is absolutely the case that it is not automatically being provided. It often happens that legal advice is provided at a very late stage, including when international protection questionnaires have been completed.

In the experience of our members, it is key to seek early legal advice. That will often aid in the smooth administration of the system itself, in guiding applicants through the system, and ensuring there are no particular difficulties.

The committee will be aware that if individuals arrive in the State seeking international protection, they are particularly vulnerable, often unaware of their rights and in fear of deportation or detention. In such circumstances, early access to a solicitor would safeguard their right to liberty and help with the smooth running of the system while also ensuring a necessary balance would be brought to the international protection system as a whole.

The next area our submission covers is the question of delays in the international protection process. Again, the White Paper recognises the importance of a fair and efficient international protection procedure. We heard this morning from Ms Gibney about the frustrations of practitioners in this area over the implementation of the White Paper and some of its recommendations. We call on the Department of Justice and implore Members of both the Seanad and Dáil to try to help us to push a certain suggestion that I believe is urgent and pragmatic. There is a growing backlog due to Covid-19. This backlog was seen long before Covid-19 in that individuals were waiting for as long as three, four or five years in direct provision. We reiterate some of the calls made in previous reports of advisory groups on granting leave to remain to those who have been in the direct provision system or international protection system for more than two years. If we are going to start considering reforms, it is important to consider who is in the system currently and get rid of the backlog. This is not just the humane thing to do because it also makes sense in terms of practical administration.

The next area that the Law Society has focused on concerns the assistance of a solicitor at international protection interviews. Welcome changes have been brought about under the International Protection Act to allow for the support of a legal representative at interviews and hearings. The difficulty is that there is a complete lack of guidance on the role of the solicitor in these interviews. It certainly varies from case to case. As far as we are aware, there is no particular guideline or guidance on disclosure or the role that a solicitor can have.

Again, that creates unnecessary complications. We ask that consideration be given to putting appropriate guidance on a statutory footing. That would ensure consistency, transparency and fairness for all international protection applicants and would limit the intervention of solicitors and legal representatives at later stages in the process, which can often cause massive delays.

The next thing the Law Society of Ireland has advocated for is the availability of translated questionnaires. It has noted, very fairly, that these questionnaires are now more routinely available in a variety of languages, but that list is not comprehensive. We ask that in any review being undertaken by the Department, or if Deputies or Senators are intervening with regard to making petitions on this issue, there is a whole scale review of the operation of questionnaires and the availability of questionnaires in all languages.

The next issue is a resource implication one. The White Paper makes a very strong recommendation in respect of setting up a fully funded legal aid unit to deal with international protection claims. That would be a marked departure from the current practice, which is that private practitioners, who make up a large number of the referrals under the scheme, would be referred cases from the Legal Aid Board. The Law Society of Ireland is emphasising that the current level of fees payable to private practitioners, given the amount of work and the complexity involved, has meant that a number of practitioners with excellent expertise have decided to opt out of the scheme. Given the fact that solicitors are involved in the administration of justice and, in fact, our colleagues in the Bar Council of Ireland who assist in certain hearings are involved in giving specialist expertise and given the fact that both the International Protection Office and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal are administering justice, we argue that they are providing a much-needed service and that it is a fundamental aspect of human rights. That should be looked at in terms of any model in the future.

The next issue the Law Society of Ireland looked at is the question of the adequacy of translation services. The White Paper contains a commitment to have an accreditation test for interpreters working in the international protection process and it calls upon the Department of Justice to implement relevant training and competency standards. We welcome this call and suggest that this be put on the appropriate statutory footing.

Finally, the committee heard from Ms Gibney about the barriers to integration, including access to the labour market. The Law Society of Ireland and the human rights committee are very concerned about the fact that there are significant invisible barriers to access to the labour market and to integration. While there is certainly a limited welcome to the fact that asylum seekers are now in a position to work after periods of six months, the White Paper contained important recommendations on access to banking services and access to driver licences for people in the international protection process. With regard to the bank account issue, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has done great work on this issue, as it has on most issues. However, on this issue, it and the Department of Justice have been engaging with key stakeholders to resolve some of the difficulties regarding access to bank accounts. We call for fairness by all service providers. There are numerous instances of financial institutions causing problems by putting barriers that possibly should not be there.

The other issue we have highlighted in our opening statement relates to the driver licence question. That was also raised by Ms Gibney in her opening statement. We are not aware of any measures that necessarily restrict the ability to resolve the driver licences issue. The Minister recommended the introduction of legislation before summer 2021, but there is no sign of that. We are very anxious to make sure that is implemented.

If there are questions, members should feel free to ask them.

Mr. O’Dwyer is here also, who, again, is an excellent expert in the area of international protection. I am sure he would be happy to answer any questions as well.