Government urged to condemn racist attacks on asylum-seekers

The Government should act more vigorously to condemn racism and racist attacks on asylum-seekers, according to the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for Ireland and Britain.

Ms Hope Hanlan says the Government is "falling down seriously" in its duty to condemn such attacks.

"It has not been as forceful as I would have expected. Ordinary people take their tone from their leaders; there should be an immediate refutation of accusations and misinformation when these occur."

Expressing concern about the growth of racism in Irish society, she called on the Government to "set the record straight" when racist allegations are made. However, Ms Hanlan, from Jamaica, speaking to The Irish Times during a visit to Dublin, praised the Department of Justice for the "important advances" it made in the treatment of asylum cases over the past year.

"If the Government's public work was as positive as those working behind the scenes, the situation here would be a lot better."

UNHCR monitors asylum cases to ensure international standards of human rights are adhered to. Ms Hanlan's predecessor last year criticised the Government following the introduction of new immigration controls, but relations between UNHCR and the Department of Justice have greatly improved since.

This follows the Department's agreement to allocate greater resources to the processing of asylum cases, as well as funding a full-time UNHCR presence in Ireland.

This official, an Austrian, Mr Michael Lindenbauer, has been based in the Department's headquarters in St Stephen's Green since earlier this year.

Mr Lindenbauer has been involved in providing training for the 72 additional staff appointed by the Department to clear the backlog of asylum cases, currently standing at over 5,000.

Training has also been provided for immigration officials and other staff dealing with asylum-seekers.

Ms Hanlan, said it was important to acknowledge the "encouraging steps" made by the Department.

It was clear no "quick-fix" solution was being sought to the processing of asylum cases. There was no evidence that would-be asylum-seekers were being deported without any hearing of their cases.

"There is a dialogue and they do listen to what we say."

Although Ireland's asylum procedures now compared to those in other European countries, there was still "no room for complacency".

The processing of cases could become more efficient, she said.

The Government is hiring four legal appeals commissioners to replace the retired judge currently carrying out this work on a short-term basis. It is expected this will speed up the processing of asylum cases.

Tenders have also been put out for the provision of a legal service for asylum-seekers, and UNHCR will be involved in selecting and evaluating the winning bidder.