The Irish government introduced a new law on 15 November to speed up the processing of 3800 asylum seekers’ cases. Subsidiary protection is a status given to people who do not meet the legal definition of a refugee, but face a risk of serious harm if deported. Prior to this there was no single procedure in Ireland for processing applications for subsidiary protection. The new statutory instrument transfers the responsibility for processing applications for subsidiary protection from the Department of Justice and Equality Office (DoJ) to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC).
Under the previous system, applications for refugee status were firstly made to ORAC. In cases where a negative decision was returned, including on appeal, an application for subsidiary protection was then made to the DoJ. This final application was purely administrative without an oral hearing or interview.
The key impacts of the new law can be best seen in the light of recent case law dealing with the Irish asylum system. The introduction of an interview under an application for subsidiary protection stems from the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in M. M. v Minister for Justice and Law Reform in which the court emphasised the requirement of the right to be heard. With regard to Ireland’s previous non-singular application process the relevant case law is found in the decision of the CJEU in H.N. v Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform. The court in this case found that the lack of a single procedure was not contrary to EU law, most notably the Qualification Directive and the Asylum Procedures. The Court found that the absence of a single procedure was in line with the principles of effectiveness and good administration because a prior examination of refugee status eligibility would not appear to be a source of excessive delays in the procedure, delays rather occur at the stage of the examination of the application for subsidiary protection.
Click here to read an article from the Asylum Information Database on the applicable case law.
The new law has been met with varying degrees of optimism from relevant stakeholders. The UN’s Refugee Agency, the UNCHR has welcomed the new legislation. Sophie Magennis, the UNCHR’s Head of Office in Ireland said the legislation had the potential to “significantly improve” the situation of those people who have been waiting long periods to have their applications for subsidiary protection processed. Conversely, Fionn Finn of NASC has criticised the changes made to the application process, saying the move was a lost opportunity to introduce a more streamlined and efficient asylum and protection system.
Click here to read an analysis of the new legislation and application process in the Irish Times.