Progress continued to be made during 2017 on implementing the 173 recommendations of the Report to Government on Improvements to the Protection Process including Direct Provision195 and other Supports for Asylum seekers (McMahon Report). In total, three progress reports were published by the Department of Justice and Equality – in June 2016, February 2017 and July 2017. The Third Progress Report of July 2017 stated that 98% of the Report’s recommendations had been fully or partially implemented – 133 fully and 36 in progress.196
A key concern in the McMahon Report was the length of time spent by asylum seekers in direct provision accommodation. According to the Department of Justice
190 Department of Justice and Equality (2017c).
191 Dáil Debates (23 January 2018) Reception Conditions Directive: Motion. Available at www.kildarestreet.com.
192 The European Commission decision accepting Ireland’s participation in the Reception Conditions Directive was
published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 23 May 2018 (OJEU L126, vol. 61, 23 May 2018). Further detail on the scope of the right to work will be reported in the 2018 report of this series.
193 UNHCR (2017). 194 Ibid.
195 Direct provision: the system of reception for asylum seekers in Ireland, whereby all asylum seekers are offered
accommodation on a full-board basis in a reception centre and a small weekly allowance is paid.
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and Equality, the average length of time spent in State-provided accommodation centres had gone down from 38 months in 2015 to 23 months at the end of 2017.197 One recommendation which was progressed throughout 2017 was the provision of self-catering or communal cooking facilities in State-provided accommodation centres. Self-catering, via the establishment of a food hall where residents can select and cook their own food, had been fully implemented in three centres by the end of 2017, in addition to communal cooking facilities in a number of other centres.198
Parliamentary questions during 2017 questioned the self-catering system put in place, for example in the Mosney Accommodation Centre,199 where food items could be bought by residents in a food hall for preparation of meals, on a points- based system. The non-monetary nature of the system and the range of food items available were questioned. The Minister for Justice and Equality commented that full consultations had been undertaken with a representative group of residents in Mosney on the new system and 600 products were available in the Mosney food hall. The Minister also said that the system was subject to ongoing review.200 From August 2017, the allowance paid to residents in direct provision State- provided accommodation was increased to €21.60 per week per adult and €21.60 per week per child. This was an increase of €2.50 per week for adults and €6 per week for children over the previous rates.201 The recommendation in the McMahon Report had been for an increase to €38.74 for adults and €29.80 for children per week.202
As reported for 2016, the Minister for Justice and Equality committed to extending the remit of the Offices of the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children to residents of direct provision centres. From 3 April 2017, complaints from residents of direct provision centres could be accepted by the Ombudsman and Ombudsman for Children offices.203 In January 2018, the Ombudsman published a commentary on complaints to the Ombudsman regarding direct provision to date.204 During 2017, the Ombudsman’s Office received 97 formal complaints from residents in direct provision centres. 205 The Office’s remit also covers the Emergency Reception
197 Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (2018a), p. 26. 198 Department of Justice and Equality (2017d).
199 Parliamentary Questions 24753/17 and 24334/17 of 23 May 2017 and 23140/17 and 23130/17 of 16 May 2017.
Available at www.justice.ie.
200 Response to Parliamentary Question 23140/17, 16 May 2017. Available at www.justice.ie. 201 Department of Social Protection (2017).
202 Working Group to Report to Government on Improvements in the Protection Process including Direct Provision and
Supports to Asylum Seekers (2015), Recommendation 5.30.
203 Office of the Ombudsman (2017). 204 Office of the Ombudsman (2018a). 205 Office of the Ombudsman (2018b).
and Orientation Centres (EROCs) under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP), and issues in relation to the EROCs are discussed at section 4.4.1 below. Complaints received included those about transfers between direct provision centres, as well as the quality of food and standard of accommodation.206 The Ombudsman commented that ‘sometimes residents are reluctant to complain and some complaints arise as a result of cultural differences’. He further commented that ‘we have found that the most effective way to deal with complaints is to meet with residents and centre managers to discuss the issues being raised. This has resulted in many complaints being resolved on the spot.’207 A factsheet was published explaining the remit of the Ombudsman to people living in direct provision. The factsheet is available in English, Arabic, Urdu, Russian and French.208 The Office of the Ombudsman liaised with the Ombudsman for Children’s Office with regard to their respective remits.209 The role of the Ombudsman for Children is discussed in Chapter 5.
The pilot scheme to provide access to student supports for school leavers in the protection system (other than those at the deportation order stage) was extended for the academic year 2017/2018.210 Eligibility criteria remained the same as for 2016/2017.211 The scheme opened for applications on 10 August 2017. However, the scheme was again criticised by the Irish Refugee Council for being too restrictive in its eligibility criteria.212 RTÉ reported that applications for the scheme dropped from 39 in 2015 to 15 in 2016 and five in 2017. Two applications were successful in the first two years and one in 2017.213
A number of higher education institutions offered refugee scholarships in 2017. The National University of Ireland at Galway continued its ‘Inclusive Centenaries Scholarship Scheme’ which had been launched in 2016. The scheme is targeted at applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection and permission to remain. Each scholarship covers all applicable fees, a living allowance and accommodation costs.214 Dublin City University continued its University of Sanctuary Scholarship Scheme for 2017/2018. The University of Limerick offered 15 one-year Mature Student Access Certificate (MSAC) scholarships in 2017, and was awarded University of Sanctuary status.215
206 Office of the Ombudsman (2018a). 207 Office of the Ombudsman (2018b). 208 Office of the Ombudsman (2017). 209 Office of the Ombudsman (2018a), p. 8. 210 Department of Education and Skills (2017b). 211 See Sheridan (2017) (print version), p. 43. 212 Ibid., p. 44.
213 RTÉ (2018). 214 NUI Galway (2018).
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As reported for 2016, the level of progress in relation to the McMahon Report recommendations claimed in the Government Progress Reports was questioned by the NGO sector. Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre, which had been a member of the original Working Group, published a shadow audit of the McMahon Report recommendations in December 2017.216 Many of the areas of progress on the report’s recommendations, including the introduction of the single procedure, general improvement in living conditions, access to the labour market and opting into the Reception Conditions Directive, were welcomed. However, the Nasc audit argued that only 20 of the recommendations had been fully implemented, and only 51% could be considered to be ‘implemented or in progress’. The Nasc research highlighted that the implementation rate was particularly problematic in respect of the recommendations that were the responsibility of Government departments or agencies, other than the Department of Justice and Equality.217
A particular concern was lack of progress in relation to the development of a multidisciplinary system of vulnerability assessment.218 The Irish Refugee Council (IRC), in its June 2017 submission to the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) Committee, also raised the need for a holistic vulnerability assessment as part of both the reception system and asylum procedures.219 The UN Committee Against Torture, in its 2017 Concluding Observations, recommended that Ireland ‘(b) Establish a formalized vulnerability screening mechanism for torture victims and other persons with special needs, provide them with care and protection to avoid re-traumatization, including during international protection procedures.’220
Recommendations made by the UNCAT Committee relating to Ireland and submissions made by a number of organisations to the Committee, which touch on reception conditions among other issues, are discussed in Chapter 2.