Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Should the Ombudsman’s powers of oversight be extended to the areas of immigration and Asylum?


The role of the Office of the Ombudsman is to examine complaints from members of the public who feel they have been unfairly treated by certain public bodies.

Last week, the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 passed its final stages in the Dáil granting further powers of independent investigation to the Office of the Ombudsman. Some 140 government agencies were added to the list including the third level sector, the National Treatment Purchase Fund, Fas, the Irish Medical Council and the Family Support Agency.

However the agencies that deal with immigration and asylum were expressly omitted. This is a level of oversight that the Department of Justice seems to resist and  has proven to be a contentious issue.

If the Ombudsman were allowed to investigate agencies like the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service and the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, it would mean that immigrants and asylum seekers would be able to lodge a complaint with a body independent of the Department of Justice in cases of poor administration. This would be likely to result in more accountability and improved decision making processes in these areas.

Many other European countries have this level of oversight in their equivalent immigration services. For example the UK Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman can deal with complaints relating to the Home office including the UK Border Agency and Identity and Passport Service as well as the Immigration Services Commissioner.

While our current Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has noted that the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 is an historical milestone for her office, she has said that would like to see the agencies dealing with immigration and asylum come under her offices remit also. She expressed that it was a move that many, including the United Nations have been calling for over the years.

Denise Charlton, chief executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI), agreed with Ms. O’Reilly stating that
"The Government's refusal to extend the Ombudsman's role to this area not only leaves people without an independent avenue of complaint in cases of poor administration, but in extreme cases can deny vulnerable migrants access to emergency supports and services," she also noted that

“This failure not only lets down vulnerable migrants, but also a system which has undergone many improvements in recent years."

The ICI has said it intends to ask the Department of Justice to review the current position and meet with the Ombudsman to examine if any interim steps can be taken to extend the protections of her office to those using the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.

The general consensus on this issue seems to be that these Agencies should be held to account in situations of unfair treatment and poor administration like other public bodies.

Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter, has promised that this issue will be reviewed in future legislation.


Brophy Solicitors
31.10.12

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Amnesty International urges Europe to act to help refuges fleeing Syria


Amnesty International has called on EU leaders to take the necessary steps to help the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Syria.

Over 350,000 refugees have registered or are awaiting registration in Syria’s neighboring countries- namely Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.

 It has been predicted that over 700,000 refugees will have fled to Syria’s neighbors by the years end. Conversely, the EU has only received 16,500 Syrian asylum seekers. 


Amnesty have advised that the EU implement the following measures to alleviate this crisis:
•    Ensure access to protection and fair asylum procedures for all Syrian asylum-seekers arriving in the EU
•    Ensure no refugees are returned to Syria until the situation has stabilized and their safety can be assured
•    Agree a common EU approach towards determining refugee claims
•    Adopt a generous interpretation of international protection
•    Lift obstacles to safety, such as visa requirements and overly burdensome family reunification procedures




Brophy Solicitors
30.10.12


INIS update guidelines for migrant victims of domestic abuse


The Irish Naturalization and Immigration Service (INIS) have updated their guidelines for migrant victims of domestic abuse. The revised guidelines no longer require the parties to be living apart in order to apply for independent immigration status.

These new guidelines have been welcomed by the domestic violence coalition that is comprised of the Immigrant Council of Ireland;  Nasc; the Irish Immigrant Support Centre; Women’s Aid; Sonas Housing; Doras Luimní; Longford Women’s Link; AkiDwA; and the Domestic Violence Advocacy Service.

However Mr. Brian Killoran of the Immigrant Council has said that a number of issues remain to be resolved in relation to the new guidelines.

“We are still unclear as to the types of immigration status that will be issued to victims of domestic violence, and the rights and entitlements that these status types will give those who are in very vulnerable, dangerous situations,” he said. “We would urge the INIS to positively use its discretion to grant an immigration status to victims of domestic violence that allows for clear access to the labor market and to emergency supports. In the past, we have found that the lack of clear guidance and direction has prevented some victims of domestic violence from accessing help.”

The Coalition has advised that they will continue to work with INIS in addressing the outstanding concerns.


http://www.nascireland.org/latest-news/3576/

Brophy Solicitors
30.10.12 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

“Urgent Review” of Asylum Process is required


In their report “Difficult to Believe: the assessment of asylum claims in Ireland”  the Irish Refugee Council call for an “urgent review” of the entire asylum process. The vast majority of asylum cases in this country are refused with only 5% of applicants being granted protection despite apparently legitimate claims.

The report criticises the decision makers in Asylum applications and appeals. Their main concern is a “culture of disbelief” that permeates the asylum system that seemingly results in many applications not receiving fair consideration. The number of successful asylum seekers in Ireland is less than half the EU average according to the report. Conversely, the UK granted just over one in five of the applications decided in the same year (22%) This is four times the amount afforded protection in Ireland.

Sue Conlan. chief executive of the council, said the study had been carried out “to get a better understanding of why the majority of applications for refugee status in this country are refused”.

The report concluded that the application and appeal processes themselves were behind the low acceptance rate here.

“Particularly where the Tribunal is concerned there are reasons to believe that there is a ’culture of disbelief’ that informs the approach that some Tribunal members take.”


Brophy Solicitors
23.10.12

Friday, October 19, 2012

UN High Commissioner for Refugees criticizes our Asylum system



Antonio Guterres, UN High commissioner for Refugees has said that Ireland would benefit from a simpler asylum process. Ireland has one of the lowest numbers of successful asylum applications in the EU.

He was in talks last week with the Department of Justice and Equality  that  “in relation to potential improvements in the Irish asylum system, namely the possibility, through legislation, of the simplification of procedures”.


He mentioned that sought also to “improve the quality of the decisions”.

He noted that “In Ireland, I would say that the tradition is of a very strict approach to these things and what is now being discussed is how to have a more nuanced approach.”

In addition he expressed “deep gratitude and appreciation” of Irelands continued support of his office despite  its economic difficulties.


Brophy Solicitors
19.10.12

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Asylum ruling quashed by Supreme court


In a unanimous decision last week, the supreme court held that the High Court had wrongly refused injunctions halting the deportation of a Nigerian woman and her Irish-born child  pending a decision on their challenges of deportation orders and refusal of subsidiary protection.


The test case raises broad issues affecting other cases and shines a light on the result of delaying decisions asylum cases over a number of years.

In this case the court found that the interference of family life of four-year-old Daniel Okunade, who “knew no other country but Ireland” and who could not be culpable for long delays in dealing with his case, was enough  to allow the injunction.

With over 1000 asylum cases pending in this country, the supreme court determined that the “extremely complicated” and “cumbersome” laws regarding  deportation and subsidiary protection contribute considerably  to delays and add to the court’s difficulties.


Brophy Solicitors
17.10.12