Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality. I propose to explain what the direct provision system is; how it came about; why it remains a necessary feature of the State's asylum and immigration system; and why legislative proposals before the House will, if passed, of necessity reduce the length of time persons stay within the system.

The accommodation of asylum seekers through the direct provision system is the responsibility of the Reception and Integration Agency of the Department of Justice and Equality. Direct provision means that the State, through the RIA, assumes responsibility for providing for asylum seekers suitable accommodation and certain other services on a full board basis. All accommodation costs, together with the cost of meals, heat, light, laundry and maintenance, are paid directly by the State. Asylum seekers in direct provision accommodation also receive a weekly cash allowance which takes account of board and lodgings and other ancillary benefits provided through the direct provision system. Asylum seekers can also apply to community welfare officers for assistance to meet a particular once-off need by way of an exceptional needs payment under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. Payments under this category cover once-off costs such as back-to-school clothing and footwear.

In addition to full board accommodation, the RIA co-ordinates, through other Government bodies, a number of ancillary services for asylum seekers in direct provision accommodation. All asylum seekers are offered free medical screening on arrival in the State which provides access to health services for asylum seekers on the same basis as for Irish citizens. Asylum seekers in direct provision accommodation will generally qualify for a medical card whereby they are eligible to receive a wide range of health services free of charge, including GP services and prescribed medicines. Other HSE provided supports include the public health nurse service, as well as a dedicated asylum seeker psychological service.

Asylum seeker children are entitled to access free primary and post-primary education on the same basis as an Irish citizen. In addition, English language supports are made available to adult asylum seekers; in some cases, facilities are provided on-site in RIA accommodation centres for such classes. At a number of centres the RIA has provided facilities for on-site pre-school services.

As of today, the RIA has 45 asylum seeker accommodation centres across 18 counties accommodating just over 5,700 residents. The system is constantly evolving, taking account of the ebb and flow of residents and the financial resources available to the RIA. Overall, demand for RIA services is declining. At the beginning of 2009 the RIA was accommodating an overall number of 7,002 asylum seekers. Today it is accommodating just over 5,700 persons, a reduction of 18% during this period.

The direct provision system did not come about by accident. It was a necessary response to the increasing number of asylum seekers arriving in the State. Before 1999 asylum seekers were treated as homeless under the structures then in place. These structures were entirely unsuited to the situation facing Ireland; the homeless service of the then Eastern Health Board could not cope and there was a serious prospect of widespread homelessness among asylum seekers. In response to this serious and unprecedented challenge the organisation subsequently named the Reception and Integration Agency was established to co-ordinate the scheme of dispersal and direct provision for asylum seekers

The direct provision system is only one element of the State's response to its international obligations on the asylum issue. As well as educational, health and welfare costs, there is the asylum determination system, as well as the downstream judicial and policing costs. In the past five years the total amount spent across government on asylum seekers was €1,275.31 million, of which €424.43 million was spent on the direct provision system. Clearly, meeting our international obligations in this respect consumes considerable public moneys. Ireland is not unique in this respect. All countries which take their responsibilities in this regard seriously are faced with similar calls on their financial resources.

On the matter of application processing times and consequent length of time spent in the direct provision system, the Minister has asked me to point out that some cases can take significantly longer to complete owing to, for example, delays arising from medical issues or because of judicial review proceedings. All asylum applications and appeals are processed in accordance with the Refugee Act 1996 and high quality and fair decision-making in all cases continues to be a key priority at all stages of the asylum process.

For the sake of completeness, the Minister has asked me to point out that persons who are refused a declaration under section 17 of the Refugee Act 1996, as amended, enter what is commonly referred to as the "leave to remain" process which generally has two elements to it: an application for subsidiary protection and further consideration to be given under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended. This is separate from the asylum or refugee status determination process. The processing of cases at this point is also complex and extremely resource intensive and there are no quick or easy decisions to make. Given the life changing consequences for the persons involved, these are decisions which must be taken with the most scrupulous care and attention.

The Deputy might like to note that the Minister has taken steps to speed up the processing of applications by redeploying staff from the refugee determination bodies primarily. The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010 which the Minister recently restored to the Dáil Order Paper provides for the introduction of a single procedure to determine applications for protection and other reasons to remain in the State. This should substantially simplify and streamline the existing arrangements. This reorganisation of the protection application processing framework will remove the current multi-layered processes and provide applicants with a final decision on their applications in a more straightforward and timely fashion. The Deputy is probably aware that the Minister is developing a number of amendments to the Bill before commencing Committee Stage which he hopes to be in a position to take in the near future.

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