Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 292: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of asylum seekers who left Reception and Integration Agency accommodation in 2008 and failed to notify the Office of the Refugee Applications Commission or other authorities; the number of men, women and children respectively; the steps taken to trace these individuals and the numbers subsequently traced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24761/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) is responsible for the accommodation of asylum seekers, through the Government policy of Direct Provision, while their applications for asylum are being processed. Unless asylum seekers are placed under 'report and reside' arrangements, they are free to leave accommodation provided by RIA, or opt not to avail of the facilities that lie therein from their day of arrival in the State. In circumstances where an asylum seeker decides to leave his/her accommodation centre and provides a forwarding address to RIA, the details are notified to the ORAC.

The Deputy should note that the Immigration Act 2003, which commenced on the 15th September, 2003, contained a number of key changes to the Refugee Act, 1996 which enabled the processing of asylum applications to be speeded up and enhanced our ability to deal with abusive applications. These changes included the imposition on applicants of a clear statutory duty to actively pursue their asylum applications and co-operate at all times with the processing agencies or face having their application deemed withdrawn. An application can be deemed withdrawn, amongst other reasons, where an applicant fails to co-operate with the Refugee Applications Commissioner, or fails to notify the Commissioner of his or her postal address or change of address. The ORAC does not engage in tracking down asylum seekers who disappear. Instead, ORAC recommends to the Minister that such applications should be deemed withdrawn under the provisions of the 2003 Act. Section 13(2) of the Refugee Act (as amended) provides that there is no right of appeal against a recommendation to deem an application withdrawn.

Where an application is deemed to be withdrawn, deportation proceedings are initiated.

Statistics are not maintained in a way that makes it possible to provide figures for the number of persons who left RIA accommodation and were subsequently deemed withdrawn for having failed to notify the Refugee Applications Commissioner of their change of address. However, a total of 632 asylum applications were deemed withdrawn in 2008.