Government advertises for 'border tsar' to 'monitor asylum border procedures'

Tents outside the International Protection Office in Dublin in 2023. The chief inspector of Asylum Border Procedures will have primary responsibility for all inspections of designated asylum border facilities in the State, and will also have supervisory responsibility for any complaints made about such facilities
File picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

A recruitment campaign is underway to find Ireland’s first “border tsar” who will have responsibility for implementing asylum border policy.

The role of chief inspector of Asylum Border Procedures has been advertised both in Ireland and internationally. The closing date for applications is April 2.

The successful candidate will “lead the new body to monitor asylum border procedures and compliance with European Union and international law,” according to the advertisement for the role.

The chief inspector will be supported by an advisory board that will also be established. While the chief inspector will be based in Dublin, no office base has yet been identified for the holder of the position.

They will have primary responsibility for all inspections of designated asylum border facilities in the State, and will also have supervisory responsibility for any complaints made about such facilities.

Last April, the Cabinet approved the progressing of legislation which the Government said would “lead to the most significant reform of Irish asylum laws in the history of the State in line with the EU Migration and Asylum Pact”.

The legislation, the General Scheme of the International Protection Bill 2025, included the creation of the chief inspector of Asylum Border Procedures post.

The Department of Justice said part 15 of the legislation “provides for the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism (IMM) whose purpose will be to ensure that, during the screening process and the application of the border procedure, there is full compliance with EU and international law, including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and to investigate any allegations of breaches of same. 

"It is proposed that the IMM functions will be conferred on an individual Chief Inspector of Asylum Border Procedures". 

The advertisement for the post said the role “will have primary responsibility at a time of significant and fundamental change in the international protection system”.

It added: “The main role will be to monitor asylum border procedures and compliance with European Union and international law, including the Charter, in designated asylum border facilities, in line with the independent monitoring mechanism provided for by the Screening Regulation and referred to in Article 43 of the Asylum Procedures Regulation.” 

In its observation of the proposed legislation, the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomed the creation of the post. It said the role would be vital “in ensuring a protection-sensitive border management system”.

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However, it added: “It is important that the chief inspector is ensured full operational autonomy with the power to conduct unannounced visits and refer rights violations for legal action.

“It is important that monitoring mechanisms are ensured independence and operational autonomy including with ensuring sufficient and sustainable funding.” 

It welcomed the proposal to establish an advisory board to guide and advise the chief inspector including in terms of strategic direction. “From experience in other countries, the creation of advisory boards to assist independent monitoring mechanisms has proven beneficial for all,” it said.

It recommended “strengthening enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the chief inspectorate’s recommendations are acted upon by the relevant institutions”.