McDowell asylum plan ‘disturbing’

HARDLINE tactics to root out bogus asylum seekers by Justice Minister Micheal McDowell were deemed “disturbing” yesterday, as new figures showed a massive fall in the number of people seeking asylum.

The Irish Refugee Council (IRC) said it was concerned about Mr McDowell’s announcement on the weekend about setting up detention centres for ‘high-risk’ applicants. Chief Executive Peter O’Mahoney also questioned the reason behind the radical decision. “Senior civil servants knew nothing about this and it was never mentioned with groups discussing the Immigration Bill in December.”

Mr O’Mahoney suggested the plan may “very well not have been on the ground,” were it not for Opposition leader Enda Kenny’s address to Fine Gael delegates about immigration last week, where he said immigrants convicted of serious crime should be deported.

Mr McDowell proposed language and cultural tests for immigrants and warned that groundless asylum claims could see applicants held in detention centres.

The IRC say Mr McDowell should not “make life more repressive for the relatively small number of the world’s asylum-seekers who get to Ireland” but ensure they are encouraged to integrate.

Meanwhile, figures released yesterday show the number of asylum seekers has dramatically fallen in recent years. Last year saw the lowest number of applicants since 1997. There were 4,314 applications compared to 3,883 a decade ago. This is almost one-third of the peak figure of 2002, when 11,634 applied for asylum.

Despite the recent downfall in asylum numbers, Mr McDowell stressed an overhaul of immigrant schemes was on the cards. Developments include the Immigration Bill, fingerprinting, visas, all of which will provide a “one-stop shop” for the immigration system, said the Tánaiste.

He also praised the work of the Garda National Immigration Bureau and its “investigatory work” in border management and illegal immigration.

Transfer orders where applicants are returned to an EU country from which they originated also rose to 294 last year, meaning actual numbers were 4,020.

Asylum applications are also being processed more quickly. Applicants can expect interviews within nine to 12 days with the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner. Cases that are prioritised can expect to be decided within 20 days and 15 days at appeal in the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.

Meanwhile, a group of asylum seekers started a no-food protest yesterday over issues ranging from poor quality of toothpaste to inadequate provision of toilet rolls.

The 270 protesters compared their accommodation at Knockalisheen outside Limerick to a prison. The asylum seekers come from Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and the Congo. They said they will continue their protest today.

A statement issued to the Department of Justice said they have been refused any forum where complaints can be discussed and tackled.