The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) has called on the legal profession to closely follow reforms to immigration legislation to "ensure justice for migrants".
ICI founder and board member Sr Stanislaus Kennedy said today that some aspects of immigration law and policies, and their administration, were unjust and that she was concerned that the upcoming Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill could perpetuate injustice.
"I am aware that many solicitors and barristers have done some outstanding work in this field. . . . I urge them, and their colleagues in the legal profession, to ensure that barriers to justice for migrants are removed," Sr Kennedy said.
"For example, I have mentioned before that I believe aspects of the forthcoming legislation might be anti-family and even unconstitutional. It will be important for those in our community with a commitment to justice make their concerns known," she said.
Sr Kennedy added Irish immigration laws and policies are causing hardship for families, from bureaucratic barriers keeping family members apart to difficulties for migrants' children in accessing education.
Sr Kennedy was speaking at an ICI-Independent Law Centre event, chaired by Law Reform Commission President Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness, that examined the issue of access to justice for migrants in Ireland.
ICI Senior Solicitor Hilkka Becker said imposing on migrants a 14-day limit to bring an application to the High Court on an immigration decision was a restriction on access to justice.
"Generally, people would have up to six months to bring an application to the High Court; to make such a distinction is simply unfair and unreasonable," Ms Becker said.
"If the forthcoming Bill fails to establish an independent review mechanism . . . then Ireland may well be in breach of Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights which requires access to effective remedies against decisions affecting human rights," she added.