Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 117: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to reform the direct provision system as administered by the Reception Integration Agency of his Department in view of the unacceptable delays and inadequate living conditions experienced by persons seeking asylum in a system which was originally designed to house persons for no more than six months. [12283/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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There are several contestable assumptions in the Deputy's question including the overall inference that delays in processing asylum applications are the exclusive responsibility of the State. The reality is rather more complex even if it must be acknowledged that the present legal system is seriously out of date.

The direct provision system is designed to deliver humane and cost efficient housing for persons who are awaiting determination of their asylum claim. It is my objective to speed up the asylum determination process to the greatest possible extent consistent with natural justice and asylum law.

It is also my resolve to keep the number of persons housed in this system as low as humanly possible consistent with the needs for temporary accommodation for this group. Any credible report of poor conditions in centres providing this service is investigated promptly by my officials and taken seriously by me. I am advised that many complaints about accommodation around the country are inspired by the desire of residents to be accommodated elsewhere i.e. in large cities like Dublin. This is an understandable perspective but not one to which the State can or should defer.