Fitzgerald to 'move swiftly' to speed up asylum claims process

Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has said she will move swiftly to create a single asylum application procedure so as to speed up the process and shorten the time people spend in the direct provision system.

Ireland’s fragmented system means asylum seekers apply several times for different types of international protection, a drawn-out process that contributes to long stays in direct provision housing that was designed to be short-term. Governments have promised to enact a “single application” law for more than a decade.

Speaking at the launch of a report on social integration, which showed Africans in Ireland are more likely to be unemployed and economically deprived, Ms Fitzgerald said a single application would be “very positive” and she intended to “move swiftly” on it. “I want to change the application procedure so there are not these endless delays while people are seeking asylum,” she said.

The report, carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) for the Integration Centre, found citizenship acquisition rates - a key indicator of social integration - rose considerably in recent years. The number of adults from outside the European Economic Area who were naturalised here almost doubled between 2010 and 2011 and more than doubled again between 2011 and 2012.

Immigrants were more likely to be unemployed, the report found, but patterns varied among migrant groups. At the start of 2013, the jobless rate was 18 per cent among foreigners, compared to 13 per cent for Irish nationals. “Immigrants were hit harder during the economic crisis and there is little evidence to suggest that they have benefitted from the first stirrings of recovery in the Irish labour market,” the ESRI said.

Citizens of the 13 pre-enlargement EU states had a 6.7 per cent unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2013, compared to 19.9 per cent for the “new” 12 EU member states with access to the Irish labour market. Asians were at 11.2 per cent and the rate for Africans was a very high 29.9 per cent.

On education, the report cited data from the PISA international student assessment in 2012 to show that, in English reading, 15-year-old immigrants from non-English speaking backgrounds had lower achievement scores, on average, than their Irish peers. The gap had narrowed since 2009, however, and there was no significant difference in PISA mathematics tests between immigrant and Irish students.

Income poverty rates were similar for Irish and non-Irish nationals in 2011. But basic deprivation was higher for non-Irish groups, and was particularly high for Africans (44 per cent compared to 24 per cent for Irish nationals).

An in-depth profile of migrant children at age three showed small differences in health and diet between Irish and immigrant groups. Immigrant three-year-olds whose mothers were from western Europe or EU states in central/eastern Europe had somewhat healthier diets than their Irish peers.

In spite of their generally higher level of education, however, immigrant mothers of three-year-olds were, on average, less likely to be employed than Irish mothers. Moreover, experience of financial strain tended to be higher among immigrant families, particularly those of African origin but also those from eastern Europe and Asia.

Report author Frances McGinnity said the significant rise in the numbers applying for and gaining citizenship showed progress towards fuller integration of immigrants, adding, “Notwithstanding the considerable progress made, challenges remain for Ireland in integrating its large numbers of new immigrants.”

The integration monitoring report was the fourth in a series, but Integration Centre chief executive Killian Forde said funding cuts meant the organisation would be unable to commission further instalments.