Overview of Direct Provision
& Government Policy
FLAC – the Free Legal
Advice Centres
Direct Provision

Asylum seekers allocated accommodation on a full board basis
by Reception and Integration Agency, a unit of the Department
of Justice and Equality

Scheme introduced in 1999 – Official Government policy in 2000

Direct Provision Resident
•
•
Asylum Seeker
• A person who seeks to be recognised as a refugee in
accordance with the terms of the 1951 Geneva Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees and the related 1967 Protocol
Persons seeking another form of protection
• Leave to Remain
• Subsidiary Protection under the EU Qualification Directive
24/03/2016
FLAC
2
Accommodation Centres
and Residents

40 centres
•
•
•
•

1 reception centre - Balseskin
36 Accommodation Centres
• Former hotels, hostels, guesthouses, convents, nursing homes, system built
facilities and a mobile home site
2 Self Catering Centres, Dublin and Co. Louth
7 of these centres are State Owned but all are managed by private
contractors
RIA Statistics indicate that as of September 2011 there were 5585
residents
•
•
•
•
•
2026 children and young people under 18
2303 people aged 18-35
1238 people aged 36-65
11 people over the age of 65
7 people where date of birth was not yet known
24/03/2016
FLAC
3
Length of time spent in direct provision




Government’s original intention
•
Six months in Direct Provision Accommodation – Minister for Justice John
O’Donoghue
Moved into self catering accommodation after 2 years
•
•
•
Policy reversed
Deliberate reduction in number of self catering centres
Two centres closed in 2010 and limited spaces to remain in self-catering
As of September 2011
•
•
•
•
•
691(12.8%)– less than 12 months
732 (13.4%)– between 1 and 2 years
1046 (19.3%)- between 2 and 3 years
2962 (54.5%)- Over 3 years
154 cases – duration of stay not categorised
Statistics available at www.ria.gov.ie
24/03/2016
FLAC
4
Dispersal





Policy to compliment direct provision and is a key element of the
scheme
Asylum seekers are dispersed to various parts of the country
No needs assessment carried out before deciding where to
place an individual asylum seeker
No consultation with local communities, NGO’s or asylum
seekers themselves
Residents cannot request where they are placed
24/03/2016
FLAC
5
Direct Provision and Dispersal: A
Deterrence?


Is the direct provision and dispersal system seen as a deterrent to
people seeking the protection of the State?
Policy Decisions acting as push factors
•
System
•
Prohibition on the Right to Work
•
Restricted access to social welfare payments
•
•
Integration policies do not apply prior to obtaining status to remain
Not included in Anti-Poverty and Social Inclusion strategies
• Direct Provision vs. Self Catering
• Dispersal
• Length of Stay
• Lack of Autonomy
• Opt-out of EU Reception Directive
• Removal of access to Rent Supplement
• Habitual Residence Condition (HRC)
24/03/2016
FLAC
6
Lack of Autonomy

Direct provision resident does not have a choice where he or she
will live
•



No right to transfer
Set meal times
•
•
Cannot cook for themselves
Cannot store food
Limited freedom of movement
•
Location and financial constraints
Have to share room
•
•
•
Lack of Privacy
Whole families share one or two rooms
Single people share with up to 3 other people in some instances
24/03/2016
FLAC
7
Prohibition on Right to Work



Direct Provision residents prohibited from working
• S. 9(4)(b) Refugee Act 1996
Ireland and Denmark only two EU Countries to opt-out of the
Reception Directive
• Right to work seen as a pull factor
Article 6 International Covenant on Economic Social & Cultural
Rights
“the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which
he freely chooses or accepts”
24/03/2016
FLAC
8
Limited Social Welfare
Entitlements


Weekly Direct Provision allowance €19.10 per adult, and €9.60
per child- the only social welfare payment not to have
increased in the past 11 years
Exceptional Needs Payments (ENPs)
•
•
•
Not subject to the Habitual Residence Condition
Usually granted 2 payments per year for clothing
At discretion of Community Welfare Officer

Other payments such as the Back to School Clothing Allowance

No automatic entitlement

Restriction on Rent Supplement introduction in 2003
•
Value for Money Report by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Services
(INIS) concluded that removal of rent supplement was a factor which led to a
reduction in asylum applications
24/03/2016
FLAC
9
Habitual Residence Condition
(HRC)

Introduced on 1 May 2004
•
•
•

Applied to:
•
•


EU enlargement
To prevent ‘welfare tourism’
British government introduced residency condition
All means tested allowances
Child Benefit
Prior to introduction of HRC DP residents entitled to certain social
welfare payments if they met qualifying criteria
If they already received child benefit they would continue to
receive it for other children so as not to create inequality
amongst siblings
24/03/2016
FLAC
10
Legislation amending HRC


Section 246 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005
(Principal Act)
Section 246 of Principal act amended by
• s. 30 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007
(Swaddling criteria put on statutory footing)
• ss. 186D and 161G of Social Welfare and Pensions Act
2008 (HRC applied to Domiciliary Care Allowance and
Blind Allowance)
• S. 15 of the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act
2009 (Certain categories of person excluded from
satisfying HRC)
24/03/2016
FLAC
11
Initial Response to Refusals by
Social Welfare Appeals Office on basis
of HRC


Inconsistency in decisions by Appeals Officers but some
relied on following decision of Chief Appeals Officer
(CAO) which said that an asylum seeker or person seeking
another form of protection could be found habitually
resident
In 2007 the CAO held:
“It seems to me therefore, that the failure of the State to provide
for the expeditious hearing of asylum appeals, thereby giving
rise to the artificial status of entitled to remain pending appeal,
should not be used as a reason for penalising appellants who
can exercise no control over the timescale within which their
artificial status will be finally determined.”
24/03/2016
FLAC
12
Strategic cases taken by FLAC




In 2008 four asylum seekers were found habitually resident and
granted a payment on appeal but the Department of Social
and Family Affairs refused to make payment
The Department sought a review of these decisions by the CAO
under section 318 of the Principal Act
These appeals had been taken by OPEN, Integrating Ireland
and FLAC
In five further similar appeals where a negative decision was
reached, FLAC sought a review by the CAO
24/03/2016
FLAC
13
CAO’s decisions

In all nine decisions the CAO found in favour of the
appellant. He held:
• Individual circumstances must be taken into account
• “The facts of the matter are that the Goncescu case did
not have a social welfare relevance and that the judgment
pre-dated the introduction of the habitual residence
legislation”.
• The legislation did not exclude any category of persons
from accessing social welfare payments
24/03/2016
FLAC
14
Social Welfare and Pensions
(No. 2) Act 2009



In December 2009 an amendment was introduced to
exclude all individuals in the asylum, leave to remain or
subsidiary protection processes from being able to satisfy
the HRC in order to qualify for social welfare payments
Introduced one week after the CAO’s final set of
decisions
“Right to reside” test also introduced
24/03/2016
FLAC
15
Government Anti- Poverty and
Social Inclusion Policy



Government definition of poverty
•
National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016
Towards 2016
•
•
•
•

People are living in poverty if their income and resources (material, cultural, social)
are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living which is
regarded as acceptable by Irish society generally. As a result of inadequate income
and resources people may be excluded and marginalised from participating in
activities which are considered the norm for other people in society
Lifecycle approach –places the individual at the centre of policy development and
delivery
2026 residents under 18
3541 residents of working age
11 people over the age of 65
Children and people of working age represent the majority of
residents
24/03/2016
FLAC
16
Anti Poverty and Social Inclusion
measures in the Programme for
Government



“The elimination of poverty will be an objective of this
Government. We are committed to achieving the targets in the
National Action Plan for Social Inclusion to reduce the number
of people experiencing poverty”
“We will adopt a new area based approach to child poverty,
which draws on best international practice and existing services
to tackle every aspect of child poverty. “
“We will promote policies, which integrate minority ethnic
groups in Ireland, and which promote social inclusion, equality,
diversity and the participation of immigrants in the economic,
social, political and cultural life of their communities”
24/03/2016
FLAC
17
Children, Poverty and Social
Exclusion


“Every child should grow up in a family with access to sufficient
resources, supports and services, to nurture and care for the child, and
foster the child’s development and full and equal participation in
society”
“Every child should have access to world class health, personal social
services and suitable accommodation”
(National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016 &Towards 2016)


UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
•
•
Article 3 (1) “Best Interests of the Child”
Article 2 (2) Prohibition against discrimination
Child Benefit – formerly a universal payment
•
Creates inequality between children living in Ireland
24/03/2016
FLAC
18
People of Working Age

“Employment has proven to be a major factor for people exiting
poverty and also influences quality of life and social well being”
National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016


Asylum seekers prohibited from working
“...while social welfare income support remains crucial and must
be adequate to meet needs, passive income support alone is
not sufficient if poverty and social exclusion are to be
comprehensively addressed”
National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016

Asylum seekers unable to access a wide range of social welfare
supports
24/03/2016
FLAC
19
Conclusions






Direct provision and dispersal used as a ‘push factor’
Scheme established to suit needs of those who administer it
rather than the needs of the people who live within the system
State is obliged to protect and promote the rights of all persons
within its jurisdiction regardless of immigration status
States are granted a degree of discretion in relation to
immigration but any such discretion must be proportionate to
the legitimate aim pursued
Changes in social welfare legislation have been aimed to
reduce the number of asylum applications
Conditions for direct provision residents have deteriorated since
the introduction of the scheme eleven years ago
24/03/2016
FLAC
20
More Information

See our website www.flac.ie
• FLAC report: One Size Doesn’t Fit All (2009)
• Direct provision campaign page:
http://www.flac.ie/getinvolved/campaigns/current/dir
ect-provision-campaign/
• Briefing Notes on the HRC and CAO’s decisions August
and December 2009
• FLAC news
24/03/2016
FLAC
21