Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he is taking to expedite current asylum applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14604/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I attach a high level of priority to ensuring that asylum applications are dealt with fairly and as quickly as possible, so as to minimise the cost to the State. Processing times and scheduling arrangements are kept under ongoing review by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, ORAC, and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, RAT, with a view to limiting the amount of time applicants have to wait for a recommendation or decision. In 2008, some 4,581 applications were processed to completion by ORAC with 2,461 appeals concluded by RAT.

As indicated in previous replies on this matter, a number of steps have been taken in recent years to expedite the processing of asylum applications. These include the introduction of prioritised arrangements for the processing of applications from certain source countries; the scheduling by ORAC of interviews on the date of application; and maximising the use of the Dublin II regulation to determine the appropriate European state responsible for processing asylum applications made in Ireland. The effectiveness of these measures can be seen in the continuing improvements in processing times at first instance.

More recent developments include the introduction by RAT in 2008 of a new on-line system of access to previous tribunal decisions. The new system enables legal representatives of applicants to more readily access past tribunal decisions and thus speed up the scheduling of appeals hearings by RAT.

In addition, the recruitment of a panel of presenting officers by ORAC to supplement its own presenting team in servicing appeal hearings has enabled RAT to almost double the number of appeal hearings being scheduled. These changes will help to further improve appeal processing timetables.

All of this work is undertaken in the context of increasing levels of abuse of the asylum process and the growing complexity of cases from a mix of over 100 countries, such as Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. As I have said previously, the vast majority of applicants do not possess any identity documentation on arrival in the State. This is despite the fact that many indicate they have travelled by air, which would have required identity documentation at the point of departure. This is but one of the many abuses evident in our asylum process today.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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At the outset I accept that ORAC and RAT have dramatically improved the processing of applications. Is it not the case that we have approximately 7,000 asylum seekers in the system currently, with the number varying between 7,000 and 8,000?

The Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, have indicated that a significant part of the delay is the judicial review element. Will the Minister sit down and have a cup of coffee with the President of the High Court and propose to him the introduction of a special arrangement for the month of September to process the outstanding cases before the courts regarding judicial review? There are approximately 700 before the courts and if 15 High Court judges sat during September, the backlog would be virtually cleared.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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It is not for me to dictate to the President of the High Court the allocation of judicial resources, which is a matter for him.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I did not ask the Minister to dictate anything to him. Will he sit down and have a cup of coffee with the President of the High Court?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Allow the Minister to proceed.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The President of the High Court has allocated two additional judges since the start of 2009 to the asylum list, so there are four judges now dealing with these cases. I welcome the Deputy's complimentary words regarding ORAC and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

Some 90% of asylum applications are ultimately seen to be unfounded and a third of those people claiming asylum reveal an immigration history in the UK. There are some very dramatic figures. The total number since 1992 which have claimed asylum is over 81,000, with a peak figure of 11,600 in 2002. That number is now much lower and in 2008 it was 3,800. To date in 2009, there have been 794 applications. We are catching up on the backlog. The average monthly application figure to the end of 2003 was between 830 and 840 and more recently, in January, it was 254. There has been a decrease in the number of applications, which suggests that many asylum seekers were coming for economic rather than asylum reasons.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I am disappointed the Minister is not prepared to discuss this matter with the President of the High Court. A substantial part of the delay in the Department processing asylum applications results from delays in processing leave to remain applications. While I accept that the latter are complex, based on the current rate of processing it would take approximately five years to clear the existing backlog of such applications. Is the Minister of the view that this is unacceptable, particularly in light of the fact that €800 per week is spent on the court, accommodation, processing and deportation costs of each asylum applicant? Would it not make sense to allocate additional resources to process the leave to remain applications to which I refer in order that people who are eligible for refugee status in this country will be granted it as quickly as possible and that those who are deemed not to be eligible will be returned to their home countries as soon as possible?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Substantial resources have been already allocated in respect of this area.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Five years is a long time.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The main reason behind the delays in people's applications being processed is because there are many hurdles which must be must traversed before finality is achieved. As soon as the relevant Bill, Committee Stage of which is complete and which, I hope, will soon reach Report Stage, is passed, there will be a much more streamlined application process in place.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Such a process will not be of assistance in clearing the backlog.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Under the new process, there will be less scope for people to go before the courts seeking judicial reviews. A major difficulty is that review after review can take place and obviously people must be accommodated. The representative of the UNHCR in Ireland has indicated that the legislation to which I refer is model legislation. The representative also stated that our existing system is a model system but that he is looking forward to the passage of the legislation in any event.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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We are replacing one model with another.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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This matter will be fast-tracked when the complicated legislation to which I refer has been passed.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The new system will not clear the existing backlog.