Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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197. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the State's application to take part in Directive 2013/33/EU; when it is expected the process will be completed; the provisions which will be put in place to allow asylum seekers enter the workplace on the conclusion of the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14721/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Supreme Court Judgment acknowledges that a constitutional right to seek employment exists where no temporal limit is set for the processing of protection applications. The Government decided to utilise this opportunity to significantly broaden the scope of reform required by the judgement and  to ask the Oireachtas for permission to opt-in to the EU (recast) Reception Conditions Directive. This would bring Ireland in line with our EU partners and the standards of reception conditions for protection applicants, by placing the entire system on a legislative basis, which will be subject to EU oversight. This is another important reform in the process undertaken by government since 2014. Opting in will provide the mechanism not only in addressing the issue of labour market access but also extending to children’s rights, rights for unaccompanied minors, vulnerable people, appeals processes, healthcare and education provision.

During the course of the debate in the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice & Equality, and in both the Seanad and the Dáil, I outlined the proposal and rationale for opting into the EU (recast) Reception Conditions Directive under the terms of Protocol 21, annexed to the EU Treaties.  I also outlined the compliance process involved with the EU Commission which they require, and which will take up to four months to complete.  The Oireachtas approved the opt-in on 23rd January and the following day our Ambassador delivered the formal notification to the Commission and European Council.

Because of this timeframe, it was necessary to address the situation that would exist from the 9th February until the opt-in process is completed.  From February 9th protection applicants would be treated equally to all other third country nationals wishing to work here and they could apply for an employment permit under the regulations established and administered by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

In addition to accessing the employment permits regime, I used my executive power to provide an additional access for qualified applicants to engage in self-employment on terms that can be mirrored in a permanent scheme once the process of compliance with the Directive is completed with the EU Commission. 

As outlined, these are interim measures until the four month EU opt-in process is complete. Once this happens, access to the labour market will be underpinned by EU law.  The implementation group, chaired by my Department and with representatives from all relevant Departments and Agencies, is currently working through the details, which will allow me to introduce, subject to Government approval, a less restrictive access to different categories of work than the employment permits regime, which is not under my remit, which will apply in the interim period.

Widening access to the labour market is a complex issue, needing to take account of a range of factors such as maintaining the integrity of the Common Travel Area, potential impacts of Brexit and any impacts on the existing employment permits regime for non-EEA nationals. These considerations will be balanced with meeting the Directive’s requirement of granting effective access to the labour market, the wellbeing of protection applicants, being cognisant of current labour market shortages, the skill set of applicants and employment opportunities available in both urban and rural communities.