Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

It is important that I preface my remarks by pointing out that it has been the policy of successive Ministers for Justice, Equality and Law Reform not to comment on individual asylum applications.

However, it is a fundamental principle underlying the asylum process that when asylum seekers come here and seek our protection that their cases are fairly and independently examined. The definition of a refugee is set out in section 2 of the Refugee Act 1996. Subject to certain exceptions, including where persons may be excluded from refugee status on security related grounds, that definition is:

a person who, owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his or her former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return to it.

As the Deputy is aware, under the Refugee Act 1996, two independent statutory offices were established to consider applications or appeals in respect of refugee status and to make recommendations to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on whether such status should be granted. These offices are the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

In addition, the UNHCR is given full access to the refugee determination process and can examine any case at any time to ensure that fair procedures and our obligations under the Geneva Convention are complied with. The task, therefore, for the independent refugee determination agencies, in the case of each individual asylum seeker, is to determine whether, following investigation, he or she is deemed to come within the terms of that definition on the basis of all of the information given by or obtained in respect of the applicant.

Every asylum application is considered on its own individual merits. Every asylum applicant is guaranteed an investigation and determination of his or her claim at first instance by the Refugee Applications Commissioner. Where it is necessary and possible, investigations are conducted with the assistance of an interpreter. Applicants are interviewed by an authorised officer on behalf of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and such authorised officers receive full and comprehensive training in the interviewing of persons seeking a declaration as a refugee.

Following each interview, an assessment is made of the core elements relating to the case. Consideration is given to the subjective and objective elements of the application. The subjective element of an asylum application concerns the applicant's individual circumstances as they are perceived and described by him or her. The objective element of the application concerns the relevant country of origin information, which comes from a wide variety of sources including, for example, information from organisations such as the UNHCR, Amnesty International, Canadian boards of immigration and other EU member states, as well as media and Internet sources. In addition to these periodically updated sources, the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal have access to up to date news reports regarding events and developments in the countries concerned.

The assessment carried out includes determining whether an applicant has a well founded fear of persecution, whether the persecution is related to a convention reason, whether the applicant is unable or unwilling to return to his or her own country, what internal protection alternative, if any, might be available within his or her own country, as well as credibility issues, which are always extremely important to consider.

Every asylum applicant is guaranteed a right of appeal to a statutorily independent and separate body, namely, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Every asylum applicant is also guaranteed access to legal assistance provided by the refugee legal service. I can inform the Deputy that a final decision on this application will be made on receipt of the decision of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

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