MORE TRANSPARENCY in the asylum process could save millions in legal costs and improve the system for both the State and those seeking refuge in it, according to a new report.
Full figures on judicial reviews brought against bodies involved in the immigration system should be published, and those seeking protection should be given legal advice at an early stage of their application, says the report, A Chance for Change, by Brian Barrington BL, for the Irish Refugee Council.
The report examines how a single procedure for investigating asylum, contained in the Immigration Residence and Protection Bill 2008, could be administered to ensure efficiency and fairness.
Mr Barrington said humanitarian crises in countries across the world show there is a “continuing relevance” for the protection of those who are persecuted.
Mr Barrington also said that the State should abandon its practice of insisting on confidentiality clauses in settlements on asylum and immigration matters.
The Immigration Residence and Protection Bill 2008 proposes that the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, an independent body, be abolished and replaced by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, part of the Department of Justice.
The report calls on the Minister for Justice to provide reassurance that protection applications will still be determined impartially.
Launching the report, Judge Catherine McGuinness said the Bill was a “positive step”, but that implementing it properly could prove to be a “true step forward”.
Robin Hanan of the Irish Refugee Council said that in 2006 the granting of refugee status in Ireland, 9.3 per cent, was far below the EU average of 22.3 per cent, but that the single protection procedure could be a turning point.
A group of immigrants concerned at the threat of “ethnic tensions” arising from the recession wants the Government to build a monument to honour the work of the “Good Emigrant”.
The group, comprising mainly eastern Europeans, has drawn up a petition calling on the Government to support its proposal.
“In this time of continuing financial stress, the Irish Government needs to find methods to strengthen social integration between all communities in Irish society,” said Vlad Hanczar of Emigrants Community.
