Press Release: Justice  22 May 2006

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Dún Laoghaire, Environment, Justice and Latest Press Releases

22 May 2006

Green Party calls for review of Asylum Process

"There is no reason why we should not strive to improve the system further"

The Green Party has called for a review of the asylum process in Ireland to be carried out.  The call comes in the aftermath of the six day sit-in and hunger strike on the part of 41 Afghan men and boys in St Patrick’s Cathedral.  The stand off came to a peaceful conclusion on Saturday evening, when Gardaí took the men and boys from the Cathedral.

Green Party Justice spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD said: “The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has praised Ireland for the improvements that have been made to the asylum process to date.  However, this does not mean that the system is perfect and beyond review.  There is no reason why we should not strive to improve the system further.

 “There are a number of areas in the system which remain unsatisfactory.  For example, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal is famous for the secrecy under which it operates and the lack of transparency surrounding its decision making process. 

"The Minister appoints the members of the Tribunal and there is no independent selection or interview procedure.  The Tribunal is at variance with similar bodies internationally in that it does not publish its decisions or release any statistics on the records of individual members.  It is time that this veil of secrecy is lifted from the refugee appeals system.   

“Furthermore, the system of direct provision which disallows asylum seekers from working should be reviewed.  If allowed to work, earn a wage and interact with the rest of the community perhaps asylum seekers such as the Afghan men would not feel so isolated. 

“We need an asylum system that is completely transparent and equitable so that we never have a repeat of last week’s stand off,” he concluded.