Michael Harty (Clare, Independent)
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82. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his views on whether it regrettable that it is a Supreme Court challenge which is granting adults in direct provision the right to work rather than his Department, which has been working with the current system for nearly two decades; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51492/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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My Department has been actively engaged in reform over the past number of years, constantly striving to improve the international protection process.  The Report of the Working Group to Report to Government on Improvements to the Protection Process, including Direct Provision and supports to Asylum Seeker, also known as the Justice McMahon report, was published in June 2015.  The Report contains 173 recommendations many of which have implications for a number of Government Departments and services.  

The International Protection Act 2015, which was commenced on 31 December 2016, addresses one of the key issues identified in the report, that is the length of time persons remain in the protection process.  The Act reformed the system for examining and determining applications for international protection in Ireland through the introduction of a single application procedure.  

The single procedure replaced the previous multi-layered and sequential protection application system and will, in time, result in the determination of status for applicants at a much earlier stage than had been the case, and consequently shorter stays in the Direct Provision system. To facilitate this, additional resources have been assigned, both at first instance and appeal stage.

My Department has since published three progress reports on the implementation of the Report's 173 recommendations, the first in June 2016, the second in February of this year and a third and final report in July of this year. The final progress report shows that 133 of the recommendations have been reported as fully implemented and a further 36 are in progress or partially implemented.  This represents a 98% full or partial implementation.

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 adjourned consideration of the Order the Court should make for a period of six months.

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify for the Deputy that this ruling applies to all those in the protection process whether they are relying on State accommodation and services or not.

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 Departments, 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). 

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.

This solution was presented to the Supreme Court on 30 November.  The Court has put a stay on the final order until 9 February 2018.  My officials are actively engaged in ensuring compliance with the order.

My Department is in the process of arranging for the Motions to opt-in to the Directive to be brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas.  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 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 the membership of the Taskforce, supplemented by the participation of relevant operational areas in my own Department and in other Departments as required.