Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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133. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when he expects asylum seekers will be granted the right to work; his plans to have restrictions on those who would qualify for this right, including the length of time they would need to be in the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49802/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Supreme Court judgment in the case of N.V.H. v. The Minister for Justice and Equality found, on 30 May last, that in an international protection system with no temporal limits as to when the application process will be concluded, an absolute prohibition on the right to work for international protection applicants is contrary to the right to seek employment under the Constitution.  The Court recognised 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.

Following the approval of Government, I established an Inter-Departmental Taskforce in July to examine the wide-ranging implications of the judgment, and to consider appropriate solutions. The Taskforce was comprised of representatives from nine Government Department, along with the Office of the Attorney General. 

On 21 November 2017, the Government approved the recommendations of the Taskforce, including the key recommendation that the State should respond to the judgment by opting-in to the EU (Recast) Reception Conditions Directive (2013/33/EU). 

I will move the required Motions to seek approval in the Houses of the Oireachtas for our participation in the Directive at the earliest opportunity. Following the approval of both Houses, the opt in procedure with the formal notifications to the European Council and the European Commission will commence. The European Commission then has four months from receipt of this letter to confirm our participation.  During these four months, the State will be required to demonstrate to the Commission how it is compliant with each Article in the Directive.

The EU Directive provides, inter-alia, that international protection applicants shall have access to the labour market no later than nine months from the date the application for international protection was lodged, if a first instance decision has not been taken and if the delay cannot be attributed to the applicant.

The Government has established an Implementation Group to oversee the opt-in procedure and the practical arrangements for facilitating access to the labour market for eligible applicants. The Group will be drawn from membership of the Taskforce, supplemented by the participation of relevant operational areas in my own Department and in other Departments as required.