CALL FOR INDEPENDENT ASYLUM APPEALS TRIBUNAL - Tuesday October 5, 2010.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland has appealed to  the Government to honour its Programme for Government commitment to justice for migrants. If the Government were to honour its long-standing commitment to establish an independent tribunal to deal with appeals against immigration-related decisions,the result would be a more cost effective, as well as fairer, system, Immigrant Council of Ireland chief executive Denise Charlton said today.  Ms Charlton said the Programme for Government contained an unequivocalcommitment to establish a “visibly independent appeals process” for immigrationrelated decisions, an undertaking not honoured in legislation due to be debated in the Dáil tomorrow (Wednesday).

“The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010 makes no provision for an independent appeals tribunal to review immigration-related decisions, despite the commitment in the Programme for Government,” Ms Charlton said. “No fair-minded person looking at the Bill could describe provisions which allow only some decisions to be reviewed, and then by a civil servant in the same department as the one who made the original decision, to be a visibly independent process.“But even this limited form of review is not available for many types of decisions, including, for example, a refusal to allow someone to enter the State, the refusalof a residence permit, a rejection of an application for long-term residence or a finding that someone has entered into a marriage of convenience. “If the Government hopes to be accepted at its word that it wants to establish a fair and strategic immigration system, then it cannot reasonably object to allowing an independent umpire to assess its decisions. “An independent appeals tribunal would be a cheaper option than relying on the courts.

“The Minister for Justice and Law Reform said during Committee Stage debate on the previous version of this Bill that €11 million to €12 million was spent on judicial reviews of immigration and asylum cases in 2007 alone. Establishing an independent body to review immigration decisions, together with clear and fair rules, would be a more cost effective option.”

Ms Charlton urged legislators to hold the Government to its commitment in the Programme for Government. “Government claims that the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill introduces fair procedures do not stand up to even the most cursory scrutiny. It is crucial that the Government honours its commitment in this regard,” MsCharlton said.
                                                                                                                                              For more information, please contact Ruth Evans on 087 067 3676