Government commitments are a start but we cannot forget asylum seekers in direct provision
Nasc welcomes the commitments made by the Cabinet this morning to accept additional refugees and asylum seekers under relocation and resettlement programmes.
The commitment to taking 4,000 people is a significant increase from previous announcements, and is certainly a start in responding to the global humanitarian crisis. However the Government must now ensure that the protection and reception systems in Ireland are fit to the task of handling these additional numbers.
“We welcome the commitment to additional resources to deal with the increase in refugees and asylum cases. However, we cannot run the risk of creating – through all the best intentions – a two tier system where incoming refugees and asylum seekers are processed through a new, more efficient system, while those 4,400 currently living in the direct provision system are left in limbo,” states Nasc CEO Fiona Finn.
Nasc calls on the Government to immediately implement much needed reforms to the protection system, in line with the recommendations of the Working Group on the Protection Process and Direct Provision, to ensure those currently in the system and those entering it are treated with respect and dignity.
This includes urgently introducing the International Protection Bill, as well as ensuring that reforms to direct provision are made to create a more humane reception system for asylum seekers.
In addition, Ireland must opt back in to the Common European Asylum System in its entirety, to bring us back into line with the rest of Europe, to ensure Europe as a whole is operating under the same system when managing this crisis.
Also, Ireland should follow Germany’s lead and suspend the Dublin regulations for those entering the State from designated ‘hot spots’ (i.e. places with high recognition rates), where the vast majority of those crossing the Mediterranean are currently arriving from.
Finally, Ireland must push the EU to provide safe and legal migration channels into and through Europe.
“We have an opportunity now to resource and reform the protection system in its entirety, and the Government simply must take it,” finishes Ms. Finn. “By announcing that incoming asylum seekers from Syria, and possibly other heavy conflict zones such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea, will not be placed in direct provision, the Government has effectively stated that direct provision is not fit for purpose. We cannot allow those 4,400 people – including over 1,600 children – to be forgotten.”
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