The Minister for Justice is largely responsible for the "completely unacceptable" delays in determining legal challenges by asylum-seekers to deportation orders, a High Court judge has complained.
Mr Justice Kelly noted that several such cases before him yesterday had been adjourned up to eight times and one would soon be in the court list for a year. This was "a lamentable record" and contrary to the whole notion of judicial review, he said.
If this "disregard" of court orders to file documents and make discovery continued, the State would have to face the prospect of cases being dealt with on "a default basis", the judge warned. He would not tolerate further delays.
The judge was dealing with a list of 18 cases in which asylum-seekers were challenging decisions refusing them permission to remain. All were adjourned because they were not ready to proceed.
In the vast majority of cases, the Minister for Justice has yet to file statements of opposition or discover documents. Counsel representing the Minister in several cases accepted there had been some delay. The judge remarked that was "a euphemism". There was "gross delay", he said. He warned he was adjourning several cases yesterday for the last time. The court was being turned into "a palace of adjournments".
"I make orders and the State just thumbs its nose at them," he said. It was only when he made peremptory orders that, on the final day, unsworn affidavits would be faxed from the Minister's side to the applicants in the cases.
The Irish Refugee Council said the judge's criticisms were "very serious" and supported an impression that the Minister was "not making adequate efforts" to allow judicial reviews to proceed speedily.
Council spokeswoman Ms Sara MacNeice said because of the difficult position a failed asylum-seeker occupied, it was essential a judicial review be dealt with as efficiently as possible.
But the Minister's failure to co-operate highlighted deeper flaws, she added. "There are very, very fundamental problems with the manner in which the Department of Justice deals with asylum-seekers."