Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 186: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of people from Somalia in Ireland currently. [9777/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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There are 528 Somalian nationals recorded on the register of non-nationals who have permission to be in the State, maintained by the Garda Síochána in accordance with the provisions of section 9 of the Immigration Act 2004.

I refer the Deputy to my replies to Question Nos. 187 to 189, inclusive, today which deal with Somalians in the asylum process.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 187: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will provide a report listing the number of Somalians currently seeking asylum here; of that number, the number who are waiting for decision on their applications at first instance; the number who are at appeal stage; the number who have applied for and are still awaiting a decision for leave to remain on humanitarian grounds; and the number awaiting a judicial review decision. [9778/06]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 188: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of asylum seekers from Somalia who have been given refugee status; the number who have been given leave to remain; and the number who have been refused refugee status or leave to remain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9779/06]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 189: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will make a statement regarding the inordinately long time that Somalians are having to wait for a final decision on their applications; and if efforts will be made to speed up or facilitate decisions on those applications on humanitarian grounds. [9780/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 187 to 189, inclusive, together.

Applications for refugee status in the State are determined by an independent process comprising the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal which make recommendations to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on whether such status should be granted.

As at 28 February 2006, 205 Somalian nationals were in the asylum determination process of which 78 were awaiting a recommendation at first instance from the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and 127 were awaiting a decision on their appeal to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. In regard to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, I am advised that some 35% of cases are on hold pending the outcome of a particular judicial review and a large proportion of the remainder are at an advanced stage of processing.

In so far as statistics are readily available, as at 28 February 2006, 380 Somalian nationals had been granted refugee status since 2001; during the same period 302 had been refused refugee status. The following table shows a breakdown of these figures per year since 2001.

At present, there are a total of 22 judicial review applications from Somalian nationals outstanding in respect of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

In addition to those granted refugee status, a further nine Somalians were granted leave to remain since 2000 with some 53 deportation orders signed since that date of which 44 resulted in evasions.

In the case of the asylum determination process, I do not agree with the Deputy's view that at the present time applications for asylum from nationals of Somalia take an inordinately long time to process.

Throughout 2005, the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner has achieved significant progress in the processing of applications generally and with the virtual elimination of backlogs. As of 28 February 2006 there were 78 Somalian cases, including children, awaiting a recommendation at first instance. Of the 78 cases, 28 are awaiting a determination under the EU Dublin II regulation regarding their possible transfer to another EU state to have their asylum application processed there. The remaining 50 have already been interviewed or will be shortly. During 2006, increased emphasis will be placed on the use of the EU Dublin II regulation as there is evidence to suggest that large numbers of Somali nationals are entering the State via other EU states. The number of transfer orders made in 2005 under the EU Dublin II regulation in respect of nationals of Somalia amounted to nearly 30% of total asylum applications received that year from that nationality. Overall, 135 transfer orders under the Dublin II regulations have been made in respect of Somalian asylum seekers, of which 88 have been effected. It should also be noted that 15 Somalians were granted leave to remain under the IBC, 2005, scheme.

In the case of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, as I mentioned previously, there are 127 appeals outstanding from nationals of Somalia some 35% of which are on hold pending the outcome of a particular judicial review and a large proportion of the remainder are at an advanced stage of processing.

In the case of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, from 1 November, 2005 all applicants for asylum are allocated an interview date on the day that they apply for refugee status, except where this is not possible for medical or other compelling reasons. For applicants such as Somalian nationals, an interview date is usually scheduled approximately four or five weeks from the date of application. Their applications are generally finalised within a further four weeks giving a total processing time of approximately eight or nine weeks from the date of application. The average length of time taken to complete appeals from Somalian nationals in the Refugee Appeals Tribunal is, on average, between six and 20 weeks depending on the type of appeal involved.

Considerable progress continues to be made in the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and in the Refugee Appeals Tribunal in regard to dealing with outstanding asylum applications. For example, the number of cases on hands in each organisation for over six months has declined from 6,500 at the end of September 2001 to some 401 at the end of January 2006. This is a considerable achievement and the staff of both organisations are to be congratulated on their hard work in this regard.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 190: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will report on the status of an asylum application by a person (details supplied) who had been refused refugee status. [9781/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The person concerned arrived in the State on 8 September 2003 and applied for asylum. She arrived with her daughter and her nephew. Her application was refused following consideration of her case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and, on appeal, by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

Subsequently, in accordance with section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended, she was informed by letter dated 15 June 2005 that the Minister proposed to make deportation orders in respect of her, her daughter and her nephew. She was given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of making representations to the Minister setting out the reasons she should be allowed to remain temporarily in the State; leaving the State before an order is made; or consenting to the making of a deportation order.

Her case file, including all representations submitted, will be considered under section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended, and section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 — prohibition of refoulement. I expect the file to be passed to me for decision in due course.