The Irish Refugee Council (IRC) has said it is "extremely concerned" that a proposed new law on immigration gives the authorities greater power to detain people as they enter the State.
The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, published this week by the Minister for Justice, allows for the detention of a foreign national on arrival where it is not practicable to issue the individual with a protection application entry permit.
The IRC's chief executive, Robin Hanan, said this was of particular concern given recent comments from the Department of Justice that it was seriously considering introducing detention centres for certain asylum seekers. "On reading the Bill carefully we were quite shocked to discover that it includes increased power of detention at the point where people arrive in the country," he said.
"We're extremely concerned at the idea that someone coming to Ireland seeking the basic international right of protection from persecution could be in fear of being imprisoned and treated essentially like a criminal."
A spokesman for the Department of Justice told The Irish Times the Bill provided that a foreign national may be detained only until such time as a protection application entry permit can be issued, and that the Minister shall accord priority to the issue of such a permit.
Mr Hanan was speaking yesterday at a joint press conference with the Refugee Information Service (RIS) and Akidwa, the African women's network.
While welcoming the introduction of a single procedure for those seeking protection here, RIS director Josephine Ahern said it was disturbing that Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan appeared to associate people who claim asylum with illegal immigration. "We absolutely refute and reject this notion," she said.
Ms Ahern was also concerned by the Minister's view that the decreasing number of asylum seekers arriving in the State was to be viewed positively, particularly given that international organisations reported the global share of refugees was actually increasing.
Focusing on the Bill's implications for women migrants, Akidwa director Salome Mbugua praised the inclusion of provisions for the protection of trafficking victims. However, she said it was unclear what rights those victims would have during the period of recovery and reflection provided for in the Bill.
In its initial response the UN's refugee agency welcomed the introduction of a new Protection Review Tribunal and the new single procedure for protection claimants. The UNHCR's representative in Ireland, Manuel Jordão, said the latter provision would "greatly reduce the risk of gaps occurring in the assessment of asylum claims, speed up decision-making and reduce the time asylum-seekers live in accommodation centres".
The Immigration Control Platform gave a general welcome to the new Bill. It said in a statement: "We very much hope that the provisions in relation to judicial review, in tandem with the provisions on deportation, will be sufficient to address the dreadful levels of abuse of the judicial review process and evasion of deportation which have plagued us for years."