Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 16:

In page 15, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:"(c) membership of a particular social group includes membership of a trade union.".

The amendment relates to the definition of a membership of a particular social group. We seek the inclusion of a new subsection to include membership of a trade union in the definition. The reason this is proposed is to reinstate the previous provision in the Refugee Act 1996 which clearly states trade unions can be a particular social group for the purposes of a refugee status determination. The amendment reinstates the current position that trade unions fall within the definition of the 1951 refugee convention ground of a particular social group and, for the sake of legal certainty and consistency in approach, we recommend that the provision be retained within the Bill.