Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

On Sunday last, 14 May, some 34 Afghan nationals entered St. Patrick's Cathedral and commenced a hunger strike which they stated would not end until they were granted asylum in Ireland or leave to remain. At present, approximately 40 Afghans remain in the cathedral. The exact number is still imprecise as some additional people were admitted to the cathedral on Monday morning and some have been admitted to hospital today.

According to the information available to me, which is based on the individual names available to the Department at present, all the individuals concerned are in either the asylum or the leave to remain processes. At present, none of the individuals concerned has been issued with a deportation order as the process has not yet concluded in any case.

Applications for asylum are assessed as part of an independent process under the Refugee Act 1996. Case assessments are made on the basis of information provided by the applicant, as well as the detailed country of origin. An applicant who is found to have no grounds for refugee status is invited to make representations to the Minister under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 stating why he or she should not be deported from the State. In addition, the safety of a returning person, or refoulement, is fully considered in all cases.

As Deputy Joe Higgins is aware, the asylum process in this State is comprehensive and compares well with those of any of our EU partners. This was recently acknowledged by the former UNHCR representative in Ireland who was quoted as stating that Ireland is now a model for the new member states of the European Union and that it has a system which in many respects is one of the best in Europe.

I understand the present position to be that the individuals concerned have asked to meet officials of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to discuss their situation. The Department has agreed to meet a small representative group in its offices at Burgh Quay. The purpose of the meeting is to hear the exact reasons for their protests, as well as to explain the nature of the asylum and leave to remain processes and that the Minister is bound by law to deal with their cases within the present framework. No negotiations will take place at the meeting. It is a question of explaining the position to the protestors. As Deputy Joe Higgins has noted, there are eight minors among the group.

To be clear, people of more than 100 nationalities participate in the asylum process at present and conceding to any demands from the protestors would have major negative consequences for the asylum system which has been built up in the past decade. Undoubtedly, concessions would lead to similar protests and a major inflow of additional applicants in the hope of benefitting from similar actions. At present, 20 churches in Belgium contain asylum seekers. I wish to be straight in this respect. We will not go down that road. We have a system which people may follow if they wish. However, we will not give way to threats.

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