Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 171: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will respond to the case of a person (details attached) in Dublin 1; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8215/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The person referred to applied for asylum on 19 June 2006. He was provided with accommodation in Dublin to facilitate the processing of his asylum application by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commission (ORAC) and subsequently by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT). The person has since initiated a judicial review of the process and, as a result, there is no immediate prospect of his case being brought to a conclusion. Consequently, there is no longer a requirement for his continued accommodation in Dublin and he was transferred, in accordance with the standard dispersal policy under the Direct Provision system, to Lisbrook accommodation centre in Galway city on 12 February, 2008.

To put this case in context, accommodation in Dublin centres is reserved in the main for newly arrived asylum seekers; asylum seekers whose asylum applications are being processed through the accelerated procedure process; and other asylum seekers who require special processing arrangements. The requirement to be initially accommodated in Dublin is to facilitate interviews and associated scheduling, medical screening, registration for direct provision allowance and other procedural requirements. Dispersal of asylum seekers from Dublin centres is critical to the asylum process and is a key part of the remit of the RIA.