Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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595. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to implement the recommendation of the 2015 McMahon report, to allow applicants the right to enter gainful employment within nine months; if he is satisfied that the current system in place is not in breach of EU Law; if Ireland plans to opt into the EU Reception Conditions Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36661/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Clearly, the Supreme Court judgement in N.V.H. v The Minister for Justice and Equality is an important judgment, and its full implications are being examined carefully. The Court itself recognises the complexities around this issue in that it acknowledges the Executive function in not only controlling who should enter the State but also to regulate the activities of non-citizens while in the State and has had to consider the distinctions of rights between citizens and non-citizens in the context of Article 40.1 of the Constitution. It has concluded that in an international protection system with no temporal limit on the decision making process, an absolute prohibition on the right to work is contrary to the right to seek employment under the Constitution. The Court recognises that this is a matter for the Executive and Legislature to consider and accordingly has adjourned consideration of the Order the Court should make for a period of six months. The State will make submissions to the Court in relation to the format of the Order of the Court is to make at the appropriate time. In the interim, the legal status as regards access to the labour market for international protection applicants remains unchanged, as set out in Section 16(3)(b) of the International Protection Act 2015. The final report on the implementation of the MacMahon Report which sets out in detail that 98% of the recommendations are fully or partially implemented reflects the judgement's impact on the area of right to work.

One of the principal recommendations of the MacMahon Report was to implement a new single application procedure. The aim of the International Protection Act 2015, which was commenced at the end of last year, is to process cases as quickly as possible so that in due course as cases on hand are cleared, persons in need of international protection are granted status quickly, thereby giving those who qualify an automatic right to work. In many EU Member States, the right to work is not an unfettered right, often arising after a particular period of time - usually 9 months to a year - and in many instances may be limited to particular job categories, the withdrawal of other financial supports, etc. All of these matters are being carefully considered as to their impact and to reflect the existing requirements placed on those who come to Ireland as lawful economic migrants, by an inter-Departmental Taskforce which will report back to Government in the Autumn.

The judgement has significant legal, economic, policy and operational considerations, many of which impact across a range of Government Departments and services. For this reason, a whole of Government approach has been adopted to examine the implications of the judgment and to propose appropriate solutions as quickly as possible. The Taskforce, appointed by Government, will examine all of the available legal options to comply with the judgment, including the possibility of an opt-in to the recast Reception Conditions Directive (2013/33/EU).