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The Journal
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Ireland's planned overhaul of asylum system may end up mired in 'legal uncertainty and dysfunction'
IRELAND IS STRUGGLING to be ready for the EU's planned overhaul of the asylum system, according to a leading Irish human rights body. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said it fears that the scale of changes – which are supposed to be implemented by next June – are simply not feasible for the government and will result in an asylum system 'prone to legal challenge, administrative dysfunction and human rights violations'. The government is proceeding with the fresh legislation to bring Ireland in line with EU requirements under the Asylum and Migration Pact. The EU pact seeks to create uniform rules around the identification and speeding up of decisions on asylum claims of people who arrive from outside the EU, and to develop a common database about new arrivals to Europe. A 'solidarity mechanism' is critical to the plan – this aims to ensure all countries share responsibility for asylum applications, rather than those that are at the edge of Europe, such as Italy and Greece. But in its initial analysis of legislation which proposes to introduce a new international protection system in Ireland , the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission said it has 'grave concerns' over the fairness and effectiveness of the new proposed asylum system. The commission raised concerns over the ability of the state to meet the challenge and as to whether it was going to trample over the rights of people seeking refuge. Advertisement Commission publishes observations on the General Scheme of the International Protection Bill 2025 In its observations on the General Scheme of the International Protection Bill 2025 (attached), the Commission expressed deep concern that implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact ('the Pact') could introduce a system prone to legal challenge, administrative dysfunction, and human rights violations. Liam Herrick, Chief Commissioner said there were particular concerns over the proposals regarding detention of asylum seekers, access to legal representation and counselling, and the treatment of children vulnerable persons give rise to particular concerns. The proposed legislation for Ireland would broaden the circumstances under which an individual can be detained. It would include the power to arrest and detain applicants without a warrant if they refuse to travel to screening centres, with no absolute time limit on this detention. Children could also be arrested and detained without a warrant under the proposals. This was also of concern to the commission as Ireland is the only country governed by the EU Pact that has not yet ratified the Optional Protocol on the Convention Against Torture, meaning that the State will fail to afford applicants the protections deriving from the protocol. 'This is a once-in-a-generation overhaul of our asylum system. We must get it right,' Herrick said. 'In our analysis of the current draft proposals, the commission believes the State is in danger of introducing a system that fails to respect and vindicate the fundamental rights of international protection applicants.' While Herrick said the commission recognises the complexity and challenges facing the State in implementing the Migration Pact, it also believes that many aspects of new proposals are 'impractical and may lead to the new system becoming mired in litigation and uncertainty'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Human rights watchdog warns that International Protection Bill could 'criminalise' asylum seekers
The State's human rights watchdog has stated that the Government's draft asylum bill 'greatly expands' detention powers and is concerned that it could include electronic tagging and tracking of applicants. It said the broad suite of powers under the International Protection Bill 2025 'will lead to the effective criminalisation' of asylum seekers in some cases. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) warned the Government that many of its measures could end up being challenged in the courts, including access to legal advice and the treatment of applicants as adults when they might, in fact, be children. On Tuesday, IHREC is publishing its analysis of the general scheme of the bill, which will implement the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. Ireland signed up to the pact on July 31, 2024, and published the draft bill on April 29. IHREC chief commissioner Liam Herrick said: This is a once-in-a-generation overhaul of our asylum system — we must get it right. "In our analysis of the current draft proposals, the commission believes the State is in danger of introducing a system that fails to respect and vindicate the fundamental rights of international protection applicants. "The proposals regarding detention of asylum seekers, access to legal representation and counselling, and the treatment of children and vulnerable persons give rise to particular concerns.' 'Mired in litigaton' Mr Herrick said the commission recognises the 'complexity and challenges' facing the State in implementing the pact, but said many provisions could become 'mired in litigation'. The IHREC analysis said the pact aims to 'significantly shorten' the application procedure, with a first-instance decision on admissible applications in six months, with appeal decisions within a further three months. The commission said the general scheme totals 244 pages, and the task in implementing the full EU laws is 'considerable'. 'Inadequate consultation' IHREC said it was not happy with the level and quality of consultation to date. The watchdog said the EU legislative acts had already been in place for a year, and it feared issues that might well have been resolved during consultation and Oireachtas examination 'may now end up being resolved in the courts'. The analysis detailed concerns it had over the issue of legal access and the use in the draft bill of legal 'counselling' as opposed to legal advice and representation. It said it expected the 'limitations' on legal access and representation will be subject of court challenges. On the issue of assessing if applicants are children, IHREC said that, based on its experience, it was 'concerned that children will not be afforded the presumption of minority' and, with no credible age assessment process in place, 'will end up being treated as adults'. It said this will also result in litigation, and the issue should be addressed as a 'matter of urgency'. IHREC said the bill 'greatly expands' use of detention and includes power of arrest without warrant as well as the detention of applicants who refuse to travel to a centre for screening. It said it was concerned the final bill could include powers including requirements on applicants to sign in and out and obey curfews in accommodation centres, and they could be electronically tagged or tracked on phone apps.
