Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The direct provision system currently in place for asylum seekers was established in 2000. When established, it was envisaged that applicants would spend a maximum of six months in direct provision while their applications were being processed. The past 16 years have shown that has not happened and currently there are approximately 2,500 people in direct provision for four years or more. Some of them have been there for up to nine years living in limbo and inhumane conditions in direct provision centres which are not fit for purpose. It is clear the situation is completely unacceptable and unforgivable. Over time, people in direct provision become institutionalised and their mental health is impacted severely. Our system of application and assessment has failed those people and we cannot stand over the failure any longer.

Direct provision is perhaps the most important human rights issue of our generation. I commend Senator Norris and the other Senators involved on bringing this Bill before the House today. Fianna Fáil supported the Bill when it was first before the House in 2014. What is being sought is not more than what has been sought for Irish citizens living in undocumented limbo in the United States.

We fully support the report of the working group chaired by Mr. Justice Bryan McMahon and the recommendations of the group contained therein. A huge amount of time, effort, energy and resources went into the report. Mr. Justice McMahon is a person of impeccable credentials in this area and worked with numerous stakeholders such as NGOs, Tusla and the Department of Justice and Equality to produce the report. A total of 173 unanimous recommendations were made. I am informed by the Minister that 91 recommendations have been implemented, 49 are partially implemented and the remaining 33 are under consideration. I am also informed by people involved in the sector that the softer recommendations around personal privacy in direct provision centres have been implemented but the more meaty recommendations have not.

The wording of the Government amendment makes no mention of any recommendation of the working group being under consideration but merely states that time is being sought to provide for the completion of the implementation of the recommendations of the working group. Therefore, I can only assume that the recommendations can be taken as completely accepted by the Government and I call on the Minister to implement them immediately.

The main recommendations of the McMahon report centre on giving a status called “leave to remain” to those who have been in the asylum system for more than five years if that does not breach three criteria in relation to criminal activity, threat to national security and public policy considerations. Leave to remain is less than refugee status in that family reunification is not guaranteed automatically, as is the case when refugee status is granted.

Deportation orders have issued against many people in direct provision but they have not been acted upon for a significant period. We do not have diplomatic relations with countries such as Iran, Iraq and Russia and therefore we cannot effect deportation orders in relation to people from those countries. This results in people being left in a horrible limbo with no real prospect of their situation ever being remedied. I am told that on humanitarian grounds many families in direct provision are eventually granted leave to remain but young, single men are not being afforded the same status and the McMahon recommendations would bridge that gap.

The International Protection Act 2015 was signed into law by President Higgins at the end of December 2015 after the Council of State decided not to refer it to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality. The Act ends the bifurcated system of applying for asylum and subsidiary protection separately and allows for a single application procedure. That brings us into line with international practice and would allow for a speedy, straightforward method of processing applications. It is clear that would significantly cut down on the amount of time new entrants into the system spend in direct provision and would also cut down on the scope for judicial review at the various stages.

The new single application process was supposed to come into effect from July 2016 onwards, but having spoken to legal practitioners in this area there does not seem to be any sign of that happening any time soon. New applications lodged in recent weeks have gone into the old system. I call on the Minister to commence the Act without further delay and to allocate sufficient resources to allow the new process to work without significant delays in the system.

While the sentiments of the Bill before us today very much find an empathetic home within the Fianna Fáil group we are mindful of the new uncertainty in which we find ourselves following the historic referendum in the UK last week. We are also mindful of the fact that we had a long period between the election of the Dáil and the formation of the Government. Therefore, in the spirit of the new political reality in which we find ourselves, and the new spirit of co-operation, we are willing to give the Government the time and space it seeks and to vote in support of its amendment.

However, I put the Minister on notice that I will raise these matters again in the autumn as a Commencement Matter and should significant progress not have been made in terms of the ending of the bifurcated system via the commencement of the International Protection Act 2015 and the full implementation of the recommendations of the McMahon group, our support for the Government’s position, should this Bill come before the House again, cannot be guaranteed.