merrion street

Topical Issues Debate

3^rd November 2020

Are there are plans to reverse notice served on the many new Irish who last Friday (Oct 30th) were advised as to the rejection of their appeals for leave to remain from INIS? Many have spent the past four to five years in Direct Provision and during this time have become very much part of our local communities. They have been issued with five days to leave the State voluntarily or face deportation

-          Deputy Joe Flaherty TD

Opening Statement – Response from Minister of State James Browne TD

I want to thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of Minister McEntee. I know that it has been a cause of concern and some of you have contacted Minister McEntee directly in recent days to express that concern.

Our objective is to have decisions made on international protection applications and permission to remain considerations as soon as possible. This ensures that those who are found to be in need of our protection can receive it quickly and begin rebuilding their lives here with a sense of safety and security. For those found not to be in need of protection, we can offer them assistance to return to their home country. This objective of timely decision making is shared by the Expert Group led by Dr. Catherine Day, whose report Minister O’Gorman and Minister McEntee published very recently.

During the early stages of the pandemic, it was decided to issue positive recommendations from the International Protection Office only. This was to ensure that applicants with negative recommendations were not disadvantaged by the time limits set out in the legislation within which to make an appeal or to request a review of a refusal of permission to remain. As substantive processing and appeal hearings recommenced in more recent months, so too did the issuing of negative decisions. While the number of negative decisions has not increased, there has been a build-up in the issuing of such decisions, with a higher volume than normal issuing in recent weeks.

The letter referred to by the Deputy is to inform the person of their negative international protection decision and informing them that they no longer have permission to remain in the State. They are required to confirm within 5 days if they will accept the option of voluntary return, for which my Department will provide assistance. If they do not confirm that they will leave voluntarily, a deportation order will be made against them.

The 5 day timeline is set down in primary legislation so must be adhered to in official correspondence. However, I understand a pragmatic approach is taken and, to be clear, the person is not required to remove themselves from the State within 5 days – they are required to indicate an intent to do so. Obviously, the time taken for relevant voluntary return arrangements to be made will take into account all factors, including Covid restrictions and limitations to travel this has created. That said, I do accept that particular issues arise with Level 5 restrictions and that the letters may have inadvertently caused distress. Minister McEntee has asked her officials to review the process of issuing such letters for its duration.  I might add that the Catherine Day Expert Group has recommended that the 5-day period for deciding whether to accept voluntary return should be extended to 30 days and children and students be allowed to finish the school year before departure. This, along with all other recommendations relevant to the work of the Department  of Justice, will be actively considered by a Programme Board established for this purpose. Their work will feed into the development of the White Paper by the end of this year, in line with the Programme for Government commitment.