Asylum seekers - Hunger strike protest was well handled

THE Garda Siochána deserve enormous credit for the professional way in which they brought the occupation of St Patrick’s Cathedral to a satisfactory conclusion on Saturday night.

At times, the whole thing threatened to boil over and could have had catastrophic consequences.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s judgement was vindicated in this instance. He was articulate in arguing yesterday that our system in relation to asylum seekers is good, fair, and transparent, and he noted that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been very complimentary about the way in which this country handles the problem.

While we may have a sympathetic system in dealing with such matters, this was obviously not apparent to the Afghans who took over St Patrick’s Cathedral and threatened to maim or even kill themselves out of a sense of desperation.

Nobody should be surprised at the frustration that those people felt at the amount of time it seems to take our service to deliberate on matters. Some of the asylum seekers have been waiting for years. We have allowed a tribunal mentality to develop in which interminable deliberation has become the norm.

Mr McDowell availed of the opportunity yesterday to complain about his media critics. He says that our system operates humanely, and he does not think that anyone could argue that it operates less humanely than anywhere else in Europe.

His assessment should be welcomed, but he should also keep in mind that it is not enough to say we are not worse than any other country. We should be affording good example. This country has probably sent a higher percentage of her people around the globe than just about any other country.

We are currently appealing to the authorities in Washington to adopt a sympathetic approach to the tens of thousands of undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States. What those people fled in this country in recent years could hardly be compared with what the Afghan refugees left. Thus, we should be particularly aware of the need for compassion.

The minister insists that our system is open and fair. The Department of Justice should demonstrate this with facts.

A 2005 report indicated that just 7.9% of the cases dealt with by the Office of Refugees Applications provided a positive response to applicants. On what grounds where the others rejected? Transparency dictates that such details should be made available.

As a small country, we cannot provide asylum to everyone who might request it.

But we can and should show compassion.