Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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543. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question Number 129 of 8 October 2015, why a person (details supplied) in County Cork has been in direct provision for so long; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37428/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware from my response to Question No. 129 of 8 October, 2015 that, in accordance with Section 19(1) of the Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended) which provides for the protection of the identity of protection applicants, it is not the practice to comment on individual protection applications.

The Deputy will also be aware that the Report of the Working Group on Improvements to the Protection process, including Direct Provision and Supports to Asylum Seekers, was published on 30 June, 2015.

The Report identifies the excessive length of time in the protection system as the most significant issue facing those in Direct Provision. I am committed to tackling the lengthy delays in the protection system. A number of initiatives have already been taken to deal with the number of cases on hand including the scheduling of interviews of applicants on Saturdays, the transfer of subsidiary protection application processing to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, the establishment of a legal panel to assist the Commissioner with this work, and the appointment of additional members to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

The Government has also decided to bring forward as a major priority the International Protection Bill which will provide for the introduction of a single applications procedure for international protection. This reform will simplify and streamline the existing arrangements and provide applicants with a final decision on their protection application in a more straightforward and timely fashion and will also, as a consequence, reduce the length of time applicants spend in the Direct Provision system. The Bill is expected to be published shortly.