Information

 What does international protection mean?  What is the difference between a ‘refugee’ and an ‘asylum seeker’?  How do asylum seekers live in Ireland?  Can asylum seekers work?

Here at the IRC, we come across questions like these every day. Sadly, we also come across unfavourable myths and misinformation about asylum seekers and how asylum seekers live in Ireland.  A crucial part of what we do is to raise public understanding about refugee issues and to explain why Ireland should be proud of it tradition of offering refuge to those in need of international protection.

 

Find out more about inviting an IRC speaker to your school or community group.

Useful Definitions:

Refugee: “any person who owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear,  is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country”, (United Nations Convention on Refugees, 1951).

Asylum seeker: someone who is seeking to be recognised as a refugee.  If they are granted this recognition they are declared a refugee.

Subsidiary Protection: Under an EU Directive implemented in Ireland in 2006, a status of subsidiary protection was introduced.  If a person is from a third country [i.e. outside the E.U.] or is stateless and does not qualify as a refugee but does face a real risk of suffering serious harm if returned to his or her country of origin, they are eligible for subsidiary protection.

Leave to Remain: A person may be granted ‘leave to remain’ in Ireland for humanitarian or other compelling reasons.  This is at the discretion of the Minister for Justice.  People with leave to remain can live and work in the country, but cannot apply for family reunification.  The conditions attached to ‘leave to remain’ can vary considerably.

Separated Children: children under 18 years of age, who are outside their country of origin, and separated from both parents and their previous/legal customary primary care giver.