James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee. The Minister is aware that it has been a cause of significant concern in recent weeks.

I assure the House that our objective is to have decisions made as soon as possible on international protection applications and permission to remain considerations. This approach means that those who are found to be in need of protection will receive it quickly and can begin rebuilding their lives here with a sense of safety and security. For those found not to be in need of protection, we can offer them assistance to return to their home country. This objective of timely decision making is shared by the expert group led by Dr. Catherine Day, whose report the Ministers for Justice and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputies McEntee and O'Gorman, published recently.

For those found not to be in need of international protection a full consideration of all aspects of their case is considered before a deportation order is made. This includes a full consideration of their private and family rights in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights as well as consideration of their work situation, among other issues. The principle of non-refoulement applies to these decisions. Under international human rights law, the principle of non-refoulement guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm.

During the early stages of the pandemic, it was decided to issue positive recommendations only from the international protection office. The aim of this approach was to ensure applicants with negative recommendations were not disadvantaged by the time limits set out in the legislation within which they must make an appeal or request a review of a refusal of permission to remain. Once substantive processing and appeal hearings recommenced in more recent months, so too did the issuing of negative decisions. While the number of negative decisions did not increase, there was a build-up in the issuing of such decisions, with a higher volume than normal issuing once processing recommenced.

When individuals are advised of their negative international protection decision they are informed that they no longer have permission to remain in the State. Under the relevant primary legislation on this issue, they are required to confirm within five days if they will accept the option of voluntary return, for which the Department of Justice will provide assistance. If they do not confirm that they will leave voluntarily, a deportation order will then be made against them.

That said, a pragmatic approach is taken and, to be clear, the person is not required to remove themselves from the State within five days, they are required to indicate an intent to do so. The time taken for relevant voluntary return arrangements to be made will take into account all factors, including Covid restrictions and the limitations to travel this has created. Having said that, the Minister has previously stated that particular issues clearly arise with level 5 restrictions and, as a result, the letters may have inadvertently caused distress. The Minister, therefore, asked her officials to review the process of issuing such letters during the restrictions. I understand that no letters have issued since.

The expert group led by Dr. Catherine Day has recommended that the five-day period for deciding whether to accept voluntary return should be extended to 30 days. This, along with all other recommendations relevant to the work of the Department, will be actively considered by the programme board that the Minister has established for this purpose. Its work will feed into the development of the White Paper by the end of this year, in line with the programme for Government commitment.