Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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430. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons in direct provision who are currently awaiting decisions on either subsidiary protection or leave to remain; the way she proposes to address this backlog; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28317/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The latest available figures indicate that at the end of January 2014 there were just over 1,270 persons in the direct provision system with subsidiary protection decisions pending and 400 persons with leave to remain decisions pending.

These statistics do not tell the full story because of the complex nature of our protection system. For example, in relation to families, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department processes the entire family unit together. However, a number of different members of the family can be at different stages of the process. This can arise for a number of different reasons - one family member appeals to their case to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT) while another does not. Also, in many cases, a Judicial Review can be instigated by one family member (often a child) to an asylum decision while the remainder of the family will either be at Subsidiary Protection or Leave to Remain stage. However, INIS will await the outcome of the Judicial Review process as it endeavours at all times to keep the family unit together for processing. The Deputy will appreciate the desirability of having the cases of all family members brought to finality, be the outcome favourable or unfavourable, at the same time.

I am satisfied that every effort is being made to have all outstanding cases brought to finality as soon as it is possible to do so. I should add that this position applies equally to persons residing in Direct Provision accommodation as well as those residing elsewhere.

The Deputy may be aware that measures have recently been taken with a view to delivering improvements in the processing of subsidiary protection applications. The European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 426 of 2013) were signed into law by my predecessor last November. Under the new Regulations, responsibility for the processing of applications for subsidiary protection was transferred from my Department to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) with appeals to be dealt with by the RAT. Both of these bodies are independent in the exercise of their statutory functions and they have substantial experience in the area of asylum investigations and appeals, respectively. Additional resources have been allocated to the establishment and operation of the new arrangements for the processing of these cases which include the engagement of a panel of legally qualified persons to process cases, personal interviews for each applicant at the first instance and the opportunity for an applicant to appeal a negative recommendation of the ORAC to the RAT. The ORAC, in consultation with the UNHCR, have recently published on its website details of how it will prioritise the process of scheduling persons for interview taking into account, inter-alia, dealing with applicants who are longest in the system first. The intention is to process as many of these cases to finality, to include consideration of any leave to remain aspects arising, in the shortest possible timeframe consistent with quality and fair assessment of all cases and of course, subject to the cooperation of applicants and no further legal impediments arising. To date significant progress has been made with this caseload. Over 1500 applicants for subsidiary protection have indicated their wish to proceed and the process of interviewing applicants began in December 2013. By the end of June, around 700 applicants had been scheduled for interview. The ORAC has also begun the process of issuing determinations.

In the context of cases currently at the leave to remain stage of the process, particular attention is paid to those cases which are awaiting a decision for the longest periods as well as the cases of persons with a history of criminality.

The Government remains committed to legislative reform in this area as provided for under the Programme for Government and under the Government Legislation Programme. My immediate priority is that the factors which lead to delays in the processing of cases are dealt with. In this regard, legislative reform aimed at establishing a single application procedure for the investigation of all grounds for protection is a key priority for this Government. Such reform would substantially simplify and streamline the existing arrangements by removing the current multi-layered and sequential processes and provide applicants with a final decision on their application in a more straightforward and timely fashion. In consultation with my officials, I am reviewing the work done to date in respect of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill and will then decide on how best to progress the implementation of the Government's priorities, in particular to expedite those relating to the establishment of a single application procedure.