Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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41. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 24 of 16 December 2016, if her Department has any plans to implement the recommendation made by the McMahon report which would permit new asylum applicants who do not receive a decision on their status within nine months to work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7675/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As I stated in my response to Parliamentary Question number 24 of 16 December, 2016, the International Protection Act 2015, which was commenced on 31 December last, restated long standing policy which provides that applicants for international protection shall not seek or enter employment or carry on any business, trade or profession during the period before the final determination of their application.

I also outlined in that response the reasons for maintaining that policy, including that there is an effective visa and immigration system already in place for those who wish to lawfully migrate to the State for employment purposes.

The International Protection Act 2015 provides for the introduction of a single application procedure for international protection which is specifically aimed at addressing the length of time persons spend in the protection process. It is envisaged that the implementation of this procedure will, in time, address the recommendations of the Report of the Working Group relating to such length of time issues. This will bring certainty of status at a much earlier stage to qualified applicants. Any applicant subsequently granted refugee status is entitled to enter the labour market.