Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think the concern is that if you process an application quicker, then you are stripping some people's rights in terms of their right to appeal or their right to a fair process. That will absolutely not be the case. We have, in recent times, included an accelerated procedure for people coming from safe countries. They have not in any way been prevented from stating their case, making an appeal or going through the system. What it actually means is that if a person is genuinely entitled to protection, they will get that quicker. For me, that is a real positive here for people who are perhaps using the system for economic reasons. They will also get that negative decision quicker, and it is easier to remove them to free up the system for those who genuinely need it. I understand that there is a perception that if a process happens much quicker, then you are stripping out people's rights but they will still have the right to appeal and go through a fair process. That will be set out in our own legislation. There will be certain appeals timeframes that we can set, and we will able to set those time limits in our own primary legislation.