The first new feature is at subsection (2)(a), in combination with subsection (4)(a). These provide that the decision at first instance whether to send back an asylum applicant may be taken by the Minister, the Refugee Applications Commissioner or an immigration officer, as may be specified in an order under the section. Under the Act as originally passed in 1996, those decisions were taken by an authorised officer of the Minister; since the 1999 amendments came into effect in November 2000, they are dealt with by the Refugee Applications Commissioner. This pro posed change will cater for the possibility that for applications made at a point of entry into the State, the first instance transfer decision could be made by, say, an immigration officer, while for applications made inland, the responsibility could be left either with the commissioner, if it came to her attention, or by staff in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform should it come to the Department's attention. This will offer more flexibility in devising procedures to deal with different streams of applications.