The Government plans a tightening up of the High Court appeal process for asylum-seekers who are denied refugee status.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, has published amendments to the Immigration (Trafficking Bill) aimed at reducing abuses of the judicial review process by failed asylum-seekers.
Mr O'Donoghue has been given Cabinet clearance for the amendments, agreed after consultation between his Department and the Attorney General.
The amendments propose that asylum-seekers be given 10 working days to appeal a refusal for refugee status to the High Court, as opposed to the current three months. They also propose that the Minister be put on notice of applications for leave to seek judicial review in immigration and asylum cases.
A spokesman for the Minister said last night that the amendments, to be debated in the Dail next week, would avoid situations where the courts were used to make applications which were "vexatious" or served to delay.
The amendments also propose that leave to appeal to the Supreme Court only be granted by the High Court on grounds of public importance or constitutional grounds related to the validity of the law.
The spokesman said the amendments also contained safeguards to ensure that those with a substantial case would have full opportunity to make it.
He said provisions were included so that the court would deal with genuine cases as quickly as possible. He pointed out that before the judicial review there was already a lengthy appeals process, giving an asylum-seeker ample opportunity to forward a case for refugee status.
The Labour Party deputy leader, Mr Brendan Howlin, said last night: "The amendments amount to unwarranted and unjustifiable curtailment on the right of individuals of access to the courts to vindicate their personal liberty," he claimed.