Immigration Bill to give system 'radical overhaul'

Legislation to provide a "radical overhaul of the State's immigration" system was published by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell yesterday.

Among the provisions included in the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2007 is a new residence permit card which will contain biometric data. A streamlining of the asylum process is also envisaged.

Speaking on the publication Mr McDowell said the Bill would apply primarily to foreign nationals from outside the EU.

"We need to encourage those with experience, skills or qualifications that are in short supply to come and work here. We are in a competitive environment and it is important that we sell Ireland as a destination to the people we need," he said.

"It is intended that [ residency] status will be granted on an accelerated basis to the holders of the new green card-type work permits."

No non-EU national living in the State will be doing so legally under this legislation unless they are carrying a valid permit. This will be in credit card format, showing a photograph and containing encoded information, such as fingerprints or DNA details. The card will be the main means of verifying whether a person is lawfully in the State.

"We need to be firm in our approach to removing foreign nationals who shouldn't be here and who don't comply with their obligation to leave the State," Mr McDowell said.

He said the Bill also gave flexibility to any minister in providing a "means for promulgating statements of Government immigration policies as they apply to different categories of foreign nationals". These would be developed over time and published.

On asylum, the Minister said the Bill would streamline the application process so that grounds on which a foreign national is seeking the protection of the State would be decided at the same time.

When a person made an initial asylum application, he said, the question most claimants ask is not: "Will you recognise me as a refugee?" but rather, "can I stay?"

"That issue is addressed at present by a multi-stage process whereby the first question examined is whether the applicant is a refugee," he added.

Only when that has been answered no, and that refusal has been appealed, are the remaining elements of the application considered "in a lengthy consideration". Under this legislation all elements will be processed together.

Chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, Peter O'Mahony, said it did not have a problem with a "single procedure as long as the process is fair and consistent".

"There is nothing in this Bill to indicate that concerns many people have had over the years about consistency and fairness are being addressed," he said.

Mr O'Mahony also said the key challenge in the immigration area was integration.

"There's no indication that is being addressed here either," he added.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) said the legislation did not address "key integration issues or provide adequate legal safeguards to protect the rights of migrants".

"The new Bill may be unconstitutional in parts, fails to provide sufficient clarity and mirrors the existing legislation with high levels of ministerial discretion," said Catherine Cosgrave, ICI legal officer. "This may result in costly and lengthy challenges in the High Court."

Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties Mark Kelly described the publication of the Bill as "nothing more than a political stunt", saying the Bill stood no chance of becoming law before the general election.