Irish Refugee Council's Conlon resigns from group examining direct provision

CEO of the Irish Refugee Council Sue Conlan has resigned from from the Government Working Group on the asylum-seeker protection process, which includes the direct provision system.

In her letter of resignation to the Department of Justice, Ms Conlan cited the publication of the Heads of the International Protection Bill by the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald on March 25, which she said happened "without allowing the working group to have sight of or discuss the most significant changes in refugee law in Ireland for almost 20 years".