Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 371: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will make a statement on the provisions that are in place for the accommodation of and assistance to former asylum seekers who are now European Union citizens, both those who have been here for two years or more and those who have been here for less than two years; the entitlements of same; the procedures that will need to be followed and the agencies that will be involved in dealing with the changes; the process that is in place to inform the participating agencies of their new responsibilities; the process in place to inform these new European citizens of the changes in their situation; and if repatriation is part of this process. [14306/04]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The reception and integration agency, RIA, which operates under the aegis of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, is responsible for meeting the accommodation needs of asylum seekers. It has no role in respect of the provision of accommodation to former asylum seekers.

Entitlement to social assistance payments is a matter in the first instance for the Minister for Social and Family Affairs. On 1 May 2004, on foot of a Government decision, the Minister introduced an habitual residency condition in relation to access to social assistance payments. This condition applies to all applicants for such payments and is not confined to European Union citizens.

The Government also decided that citizens of the ten new EU member states who fail to qualify for social assistance payments on foot of the habitual residency condition would be referred to my Department who would support their repatriation on an agency basis for the Department of Social and Family Affairs. This task is being undertaken by RIA. I understand that the Department of Social and Family Affairs has issued a circular in relation to the new arrangements to the chief executive officers of the health boards and to the community welfare officers who deal with applications for supplementary welfare allowances.

The position in relation to nationals of the ten new EU member states is that since 1 May their immigration status is underwritten by EU treaty rights. These rights include a right to participate in the labour market. As no Irish citizen participating in the labour market is provided with full board accommodation on the style of the direct provision system funded by the taxpayer, it would be a manifest inequality to facilitate the continuance of such an arrangement for a national of a new EU member state who had applied for refugee status here prior to 1 May and whose rights of access to the labour market since that date is no different to an Irish citizen. In these circumstances the RIA has asked nationals from ten new EU member states to vacate their state funded direct provision accommodation as quickly as possible.