Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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136. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 352 of 20 September 2017, which failed to address the questions raised in the case of a person (details supplied), if their case can be considered with a view to granting stamp 4 status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45583/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware from the previous response to this question on 12 October last, if an application for asylum or subsidiary protection has been made in the State, for confidentiality reasons it is not the practice to comment on such applications and the applicant or his legal representative should contact the International Protection Office directly either by email to info@ipo.gov.ie, by telephone to the IPO Customer Service Centre at 01 6028008 or in writing to Customer Service Centre, International Protection Office, 79-83 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2.

Following the commencement of the International Protection Act 2015 on 31 December 2016, new arrangements for the investigation and determination of applications for international protection (refugee status and subsidiary protection) and cases involving permission to remain in the State have been introduced. Such applications are now processed, as part of a single application procedure, by a new International Protection Office (IPO) which has replaced the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) from that date.

The staff of that Office (the Chief International Protection Officer and International Protection Officers) are also independent in the performance of their protection functions.

For your information, the Chief International Protection Officer, following consultation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), published a statement on the Prioritisation of Applications for International Protection under the International Protection Act 2015 on 27 February 2017 which is available on the website of the International Protection Office (www.ipo.gov.ie).