Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
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410. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the plans in place to improve access to higher education and training for young persons in direct provision centres. [28115/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department is responsible for the accommodation of asylum / protection applicants in accordance with the Government policy of direct provision and dispersal. As at 8 June 2014, there were 4,353 persons availing of direct provision accommodation and supports in 34 accommodation centres across 16 counties.

Policy in relation to access to higher education and training in relation to all cohorts of persons, including asylum seekers, is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills. In relation to this question his Department has advised my Department of the following.

Under the terms of the Department of Education and Skill’s Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The nationality/immigration status requirements for the student grant scheme are set out in section 14 of the Student Support Act, 2011 and regulation 5 of the Student Support Regulations 2014.

While persons with refugee status meet the nationality/immigration status requirement of the scheme, persons who are in the asylum process and are awaiting decisions in relation to their applications for refugee status are ineligible under the nationality requirement.

Article 32 of the Student Grant Scheme 2014 provides for the review of eligibility for the award of grant assistance in the event of changes of circumstances in the academic year, including a change in relation to a student's nationality or immigration status. This means that where a person in the asylum process is declared a refugee during the course of their studies, he/she may apply to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) to have his/her application re-assessed. Any award the applicant may be eligible for as a result of a change in their immigration status will take effect from the date on which the change occurs.

Under the terms of the Department of Education and Skills Free Fees Schemes students must hold, inter alia, EU/EEA/Swiss nationality in their own right, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course. Persons with official refugee status in the state may also meet the nationality clause of the schemes. Persons in the asylum process are not entitled to free fees. However, time spent from date of official lodgement of application papers for refugee status will be included for the purpose of meeting the three year residency requirement.

Persons in the asylum process who are declared a refugee during the course of their studies may be entitled to free tuition fees for the remainder of their course of study as follows:

- Students who acquire refugee status up to 31 January in an academic year may be entitled to free tuition from the second half of the academic year.

- Students who acquire refugee status from 1 February may be entitled to free tuition fees from the commencement of the next academic year.

The Department of Education and Skills has advised that there are no plans at present to extend the scope of the Student Grant Scheme or the Free Fee Schemes to provide for young persons in the asylum process and in direct provision centres.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
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411. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the action that has been taken to address the increasing numbers of residents in the direct provision system who are presenting with mental health issues due to stress. [28116/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The direct provision system is managed by the Reception and Integration Agency, RIA, of my Department. Its function is to provide accommodation and related services to those who have sought international protection and who have no means of supporting themselves otherwise. As at 8 June 2014, there were 4,353 persons availing of direct provision accommodation and supports in 34 accommodation centres across 16 counties.

Asylum seekers are entitled to the same public health services, including mental health services, as Irish citizens. In addition, asylum seekers in direct provision centres qualify for a medical card which allows them access a range of health services free of charge.

Asylum seekers in direct provision first link in with health services when they are temporarily accommodated in a reception centre in Dublin after they first claim international protection. In the reception centre, they are offered medical screening and are linked in with Community Welfare services. Access is also provided to GP's, Public Health Nurses and psychological services. After a period of approximately two weeks, those asylum seekers are scheduled for dispersal to accommodation centres throughout the country, subject to clearance by the HSE Health Centre in the reception centre. If there are particular health concerns, a person may be retained for a period at the reception centre or may be dispersed to specified accommodation centres with access to particular health services. Even after dispersal, further health needs may present. Such cases are reviewed by RIA's internal administrative health unit in conjunction with the local health services to see if any administrative arrangements, transfers etc., can be put in place. RIA has access to an independent medical referee to assist in the assessment of particular health needs.

As I have stated elsewhere, I acknowledge that the length of time that residents spend in Direct Provision is an issue to be addressed. My immediate priority is that the factors which lead to delays in the processing of cases are dealt with so that protection seekers spend as little time as necessary in direct provision.

A key priority for this Government is legislative reform aimed at establishing a single application procedure for the investigation of all grounds for protection and any other grounds presented by applicants seeking to remain in the State. 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.