Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 192: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on extending the remit of the Ombudsman to the handling of asylum and immigration cases; the reason he did not include these in the Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008; if he has had formal discussions with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on this issue; the outcome of this discussion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45365/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I have no proposals to extend the remit of the Ombudsman to the areas identified by the Deputy.

Section 5(1)(e) of the Ombudsman Act 1980 provides that "the Ombudsman shall not investigate any action taken . . . in the administration of the law relating to aliens or naturalisation". These actions will continue to be excluded from the remit of the Ombudsman under the Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008 on the advice of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who considers that their inclusion would have serious implications for Government strategies in this field.

The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008 sets out a legislative framework for the management of inward migration to Ireland and represents a comprehensive overhaul of the State's immigration and protection laws dating back to the Aliens Act 1935. When enacted, it will provide a legislative framework underpinning an enhanced immigration system offering greater clarity and certainty to migrants while at the same time guarding against abuses. The Bill also places the existing visa review process on a statutory basis and introduces a similar statutory review process in relation to decisions to refuse to renew such permission. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform considers that to add a further layer of review by extending the role of the Ombudsman would have a detrimental effect on current workloads in the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service and would affect processing times for applicants.

While the Ombudsman does not have the power to investigate immigration and naturalisation matters, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service receives correspondence from her Office on such cases and responds to such correspondence giving the factual position on the matter complained about. The Ombudsman's Office, however, has no powers of investigation into the complaints made, in accordance with Section 5 (1) (e) of the Ombudsman Act 1980.