Both the Irish Refugee Council and the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice have called for the right to work to be granted to all asylum-seekers waiting for more than one year for decisions on their cases. But a spokeswoman for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment said yesterday there are no plans at the moment to renew the scheme granting such rights to a limited group of asylum-seekers, which expired yesterday.
Under the scheme introduced last year, those who applied for asylum up to the cut-off date of July 26th, 1999, are able to take up employment after a year's waiting for decision on their claims. The last such group reached the point of entitlement to work yesterday.
The total of those qualified by the end of last month was 3,239. A spokesman for the Department of Social Welfare said of those, 100 are currently taking part in work schemes. A further 1,030 are no longer claiming social welfare benefits. The remaining 2,109 are either claiming social welfare allowance or unemployment assistance.
Asylum-seekers are those seeking recognition as refugees because they are fleeing persecution at home. If granted refugee status, they are entitled to live permanently in Ireland. If denied it, they are liable to be deported.
Father Tony O'Riordan, a spokesman for the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, said as a "minimal gesture" the right to work should be extended to all asylum-seekers in the State for more than 12 months. "While this would be far from satisfactory, it would at least restore parity among asylum-seekers," he said. He added that it was difficult to get an accurate picture of the numbers at work, but figures from the FAS Asylum-Seekers Unit were "very encouraging".
"Between the two designated FAS centres in Blanchardstown and Tallaght over 200 asylum-seekers have either got work or work placement. Of those using this service, up to 90 per cent were verified as skilled or semiskilled and a small number were highly qualified professional such as doctors and dentists," he said.
While reluctant to draw firm conclusions from the fact that more than 800 asylum-seekers have signed off the welfare system altogether, Father O'Riordan said it was "further evidence that asylum-seekers who were eligible to work were working."
Mr Peter O'Mahony, the chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, said the Government's failure to extend the work scheme condemned asylum-seekers who made their claim for refugee status after July 26th, 1999, to "forced unemployment". This prevented their meaningful contribution to Irish society, he said.
"Given the Government's own commitment to process asylum applications within a six-month period, it is unreasonable to penalise those who, after a full year, are still waiting to have their claims determined."
Mr O'Mahony said that given current labour shortages and efforts to attract immigrant labour, it was "nothing less than a scandal that a pool of potential workers already in the country is being excluded."