Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 592: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the role and responsibilities of the ministerial decisions unit in the immigration, asylum and citizenship division of his Department; if any ministerial functions, powers or duties have been delegated, either expressly or implicitly, to civil servants in that unit; if there is any difference in the relationship between the Minister and civil servants in that unit and elsewhere in the Department; and if so, the nature of the difference; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19108/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The ministerial decisions unit of my Department has been in place since 20 November 2000, the date on which the independent refugee determination bodies, namely, the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, were established on a statutory footing, pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Refugee Act 1996, as amended. The need for the unit arises from the framework provided in the 1996 Act for the processing of applications for refugee status in the State.

A person seeking the status of refugee may apply to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform under section 8 of the 1996 Act for a declaration to this effect. As provided for in the 1996 Act, the investigation of individual applications is carried out, at first instance, by the Refugee Applications Commissioner under the terms of section 11 of the 1996 Act who, under section 13, makes a recommendation to the Minister as to whether an applicant should or should not be declared to be a refugee. An appeal by the applicant against a recommendation by the commissioner is made under section 16 of the Act to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal which may affirm or set aside the recommendation.

Section 17 (1) of the 1996 Act provides, inter alia, that where the commissioner, or as the case may be, the tribunal, makes a recommendation, the Minister shall, in case the report of the commissioner or, as the case may be, the decision of the tribunal includes a recommendation that the applicant concerned should be declared to be a refugee, give to the applicant a declaration that the applicant is a refugee, and may, in any other case, refuse to give the applicant a declaration.

Provision also exists to deal with national security and public policy considerations. This statutory framework gives rise to the need for an administrative unit within my Department to process such decisions in accordance with the Carltona principle.

The ministerial decision unit also deals with applications for re-admission to the asylum process by applicants who have been declared not to be refugees, in accordance with the provisions of section 17(7) of the Refugee Act 1996, as amended, and with the processing of revocations of refugee status in certain cases, in accordance with section 21 of that Act. There is nothing unusual or special about the relationship to the Minister of the ministerial decisions unit. It carries out an administrative function in my Department within a given statutory framework in the same way as any other unit.