Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I do not accept that there have been massive problems or any cronyism. The RAT is a fine group of men and women who have done the State some considerable service. There have been newspaper reports about their earnings, which are on a per-case basis. They have undertaken a massive backlog of appeals, which I mentioned earlier, and have virtually eliminated it. We are dealing with people on a real-time basis and processing their applications in a matter of weeks. Great tribute is owed to members of the RAT and ORAC for the way they have turned around the system. It has been suggested that there has been inconsistency and different approaches between members and that only those who are tough have received significant amounts of case work in the tribunal. I have investigated that point and one of the top earners is a person whose record was probably one of the most liberal, so I do not accept that view.

Deputy Jim O'Keeffe asks if we can have a different approach in light of declining numbers. Let us remember that this tribunal was established when there was a flood of asylum seekers and a large backlog of work. The time has come to review the tribunal.

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