FIANNA Fail and Democratic Left were the slowest to respond to an Amnesty International survey of politicians' attitudes towards the 1996 Refugee Act.
Some 85 per cent of Fianna Fail and 83 per cent of Democratic Left deputies did not reply to the Amnesty survey, followed by a 68 per cent silence from Labour TDs and a 64 per cent silence from Fine Gael. The act was steered through the Oireachtas by the Labour Minister of State for Justice, Ms Joan Burton.
Deputies who participated in the survey favoured the full implementation of the Act, along with the necessary resources to do so. The Act provides for procedures to deal with asylum seekers. Applicants are currently dealt with under old and inadequate procedures, according to Amnesty's Irish section.
The results were "encouraging" in reflecting all party support for proper asylum procedures, Mr John Lannon, national executive member of Amnesty, said. However, the poor response was disappointing, and many of the election candidates would not give a specific date for full implementation.
