Ombudsman for Children’s Office welcomes PSOP Committee call to extend remit in relation to Direct Provision

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office has welcomed the publication today of the Report from the Dáil Joint Committee on Public Service, Oversight and Petitions (PSOP) which recommends that the remit of the Ombudsman for Children be extended to cover all aspects and bodies associated with the Direct Provision System (DPS) in Ireland.

Welcoming the Report, the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon, said that it was essential that the Government and Minister for Justice act on the recommendations of the Report which states that “Children in the Direct Provision System should have the same rights as any other child in the State…[and recommends that] for as long as the Direct Provision System remains in existence, that the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman for Children…include the Direct Provision System, the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) as well as the administration of the law relating to immigration and naturalisation.”

Dr. Muldoon commended the Dáil Committee for taking the time to allow the OCO highlight the importance of treating all children in Ireland equally by placing their interests at the heart of the decision making process.

“Every child in Ireland, regardless of their status, deserves the same protection with the same access to an independent complaints mechanism.  One third of the 4,360 people currently residing in the Direct Provision System in Ireland are children (i.e. 1,453) and these children are being clearly discriminated against by failure to have any access to such a complaints process.

“The long-standing position of my Office is that the current exclusion to the investigatory remit of the Office in relation to the administration of the law regarding asylum and immigration relates only to decisions on status; my Office believes everything else – including issues regarding accommodation, administration processes and internal complaint handling – are in remit. However, the Department of Justice and Equality does not share this understanding.  We have continually recommended that the Oireachtas put the matter beyond doubt and provide clear, unambiguous access for protection applicants to my Office.

“My Office aims to achieve systemic change through its investigatory work by tackling the root causes of the complaints we receive.  Following this morning’s recommendations by the Dáil PSOP Committee and the upcoming publication of the Report from the Working Group on Direct Provision there is now an opportunity to clarify the remit of the OCO so that my Office can fully investigate complaints related to the Direct Provision System in Ireland and by doing so, ensure that Ireland is on par with international best practice.”

• 7 May 2015
• Type: Press Release
• Topic: Immigration