Working Group to Report to Government on Improvements to the Protection Process, Including Direct Provision and Supports to Asylum Seekers
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Working Group on the Protection Process Working Group to Report to Government i on Improvements to the Protection Process, including Direct Provision and Supports to Asylum Seekers Final Report June 2015 Working Group on the Protection Process ii Working Group to Report to Government on Improvements to the Protection Process, including Direct Provision and Supports to Asylum Seekers Final Report June 2015 Working Group on the Protection Process 2 ABBREVIATIONS AMIF Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund AVR Assisted voluntary return CEAS Common European Asylum System CJEU Court of Justice of the European Union CRC UN Convention on the Rights of the Child DO Deportation order DP Direct Provision EASO European Asylum Support Office EEA European Economic Area ENP Exceptional needs payment ECHR European Convention on Human Rights GNIB Garda National Immigration Bureau HSE Health Service Executive INIS Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service IOM International Organization for Migration IPAT International Protection Appeals Tribunal JR Judicial review LAB Legal Aid Board LTR Leave to remain ORAC Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner PTR Permission to remain PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder RAT Refugee Appeals Tribunal RIA Reception and Integration Agency SP Subsidiary protection SWA Supplementary Welfare Allowance TEC Treaty establishing the European Community TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Working Group on the Protection Process 3 GLOSSARY Asylum seeker A person who has made an application for refugee and/or subsidiary protection status. For the purposes of this report the term “protection applicant” is used unless the context requires otherwise. Communal kitchen A kitchen that may be used by residents for cooking their meals using supplies provided by the centre management. Direct Provision (DP) Direct Provision is the means by which the State seeks to meet its obligations to provide for the material needs of people seeking protection in the State (see para. 1.30). Family quarters An accommodation unit that comprises a living room and bedroom(s) for the sole use of a family. Bathroom facilities may be en-suite or may be a bathroom designated for the family’s use outside of the unit. Garda National Immigration The Garda National Immigration Bureau carries out deportations, Bureau (GNIB) border control and investigations relating to illegal immigration and human trafficking. Irish Naturalisation and The functional unit within the Department of Justice and Equality Immigration Service (INIS) responsible for administering the administrative functions of the Minister for Justice and Equality in relation to asylum, immigration (including visas) and citizenship matters. International protection In the global context, the actions by the international community on the basis of international law, aimed at protecting the fundamental rights of a specific category of persons outside their countries of origin, who lack the national protection of their own countries. In the EU context, protection that encompasses refugee status and subsidiary protection status (European Migration Network; Asylum and Migration Glossary 3.0 October 2014). Leave to remain process (LTR) The consideration by the Minister for Justice and Equality of whether or not to issue a deportation order in respect of a person who has been deemed not eligible for protection. If the decision is that a deportation order should not issue, leave to remain in the State is granted under Ministerial discretion following consideration of representations submitted, including in relation to the matters set out in section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999. Legal Aid Board (LAB) An independent statutory body providing legal services in civil matters. It has a specialised office to provide confidential and independent legal services to persons applying for protection in Ireland. Legal aid and advice is also provided in appropriate cases on immigration and deportation matters. Office of the Refugee The first instance decision-making body in the Irish protection Applications Commissioner process. (ORAC) Working Group on the Protection Process 4 GLOSSARY Person at the deportation order A person who has completed the protection and leave to remain stage stages and in respect of whom a deportation order has issued. Person at the leave to remain A person who has completed the protection process and whose stage (LTR) eligibility for leave to remain has yet to be considered. Such persons may or may not have made specific representations seeking leave to remain in the State (See also: leave to remain process) Person in the judicial review A person who is engaged in judicial review proceedings before the process Courts. Such a person will simultaneously be at one of the stages in the system. Protection applicant A person with an application for refugee status and/or subsidiary protection which has not been determined to finality. Protection process The determination of eligibility for refugee status and/or subsidiary protection status and the appeal of negative decisions on eligibility. Refugee Appeals Tribunal The second instance decision-making body in the Irish protection (RAT) process. Reception and Integration The functional unit within the Department of Justice and Equality Agency (RIA) with responsibility for arranging accommodation for protection applicants (in accordance with the Government policies of Direct Provision and dispersal) and working with statutory and non-statutory bodies to coordinate the delivery of other services including health, social welfare and education to applicants. Refugee A person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his or her former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it (section 2 of the Refugee Act 1996). Resident A person who resides in a Direct Provision accommodation centre. Section 3 A shorthand means of referring to the consideration by the Minister for Justice and Equality of whether or not to issue a deportation order in respect of a person who has been deemed not eligible for protection. If the decision is that a deportation order should not issue, leave to remain in the State is granted under Ministerial discretion following consideration of representations submitted, including in relation to the matters set out in section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999. Working Group on the Protection Process 5 GLOSSARY Self-catering centre An accommodation centre that is essentially an apartment block with residents doing their own shopping and cooking. As accommodation only is supplied, the Direct Provision weekly allowance rate is increased in line with that of the appropriate personal/family rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA), less a standard deduction of €32/€40 per week in respect of the person’s contribution towards accommodation costs. These centres are exceptions within Direct Provision and are used as step- down facilities or to accommodate persons deemed by RIA to be particularly unsuited to communal living. Self-contained unit A unit within an accommodation centre that comprises a living room, bedroom(s), bathroom, and cooking facilities (albeit that they may not be capable of use at present). Separated child A person under 18 years of age who is outside his/her country of origin or habitual residence and is separated from both parents or their previous legal/customary primary caregiver (see also: unaccompanied minor). Single application procedure Also single procedure. A procedure leading, on the basis of a single application for refugee status, subsidiary protection status or leave to remain, to a decision. Subsidiary protection The protection given to a person: (a) who is not a national of a EU Member State, (b) who does not qualify as a refugee, (c) in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that the person concerned, if returned to his or her country of origin, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm and who is unable or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country. “Serious harm” means: (a) death penalty or execution; (b) torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of an applicant in his or her country of origin; or (c) serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict (Regulation 1(2) of S.I. 426 of 2013 European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013). Supplementary Welfare A means-tested scheme administered by the Department of Social Allowance Protection that is considered the “safety net” within the social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible persons whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. The system Comprises the protection process, the leave to remain process, the deportation order stage and the judicial review process in the State. Working Group on the Protection Process 6 GLOSSARY Tusla Refers to the Child and Family Agency. Unaccompanied minor A person under 18 years who is outside his/her country of origin or habitual residence and who is separated from both parents and other relatives and who is not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible for doing so. See also: separated child. For the purposes of this report “separated child” is used unless the context requires otherwise. Working Group on the Protection Process 7 CONTENTS Foreword 10 Executive Summary 12 Introduction 26 Chapter 1 Overview of the Protection System and Application Trends 32 A. Introduction 33 B. International and Regional Legal Framework 34 C. Irish Legal Framework 39 D. Arrangements for the Reception of Protection Applicants 44 E.