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  1. Get Help
  2. Useful Information
  3. FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is a refugee?

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A refugee is anyone who leaves their country because they fear they are in danger of persecution for one of the following five reasons:

  1. Race – including ethnicity
  2. Religion – in some countries having no religion is viewed as badly as being the ‘wrong’ religion
  3. Nationality
  4. Membership of a particular social group – this can include things like membership of a trade union, your gender (i.e. male or female), your sexual orientation, your age (i.e. if children are in danger of persecution)
  5. Political opinion – this is not only if you are a member of a political party, but if you have any political opinions, or even if people think you do.

Published: 5th April, 2020

Updated: 13th April, 2020

Author: Vikki Walshe

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Who is an asylum seeker?

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Asylum seekers are people seeking to be recognised as refugees, who are waiting for the authorities to decide on their applications. People in this process are legally entitled to stay in the state until their application for protection is decided. They also have a right to a fair hearing of that application and to an appeal if necessary.

Published: 6th April, 2020

Updated: 20th April, 2020

Author: Vikki Walshe

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Who is eligible for subsidiary protection?

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A third country national who is not a refugee but if returned to his/her country of origin faces a real risk of suffering serious harm consisting of the death penalty or execution or torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of the person in their country of origin or a serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.

Published: 7th April, 2020

Updated: 20th April, 2020

Author: Vikki Walshe

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Where do refugees come from?

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Refugees come from many places across the world. Sometimes the persecution they flee is well known and recognised, for example the war in Syria. For others, their plight is not so widely known, or the persecution they face is more personal – e.g. because of your sexuality or gender. There is often a misunderstanding that refugees are only born of war and conflict. The reality is there are many reasons why a person may become a refugee.

Published: 8th April, 2020

Updated: 20th April, 2020

Author: Vikki Walshe

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How do people seeking asylum in Ireland live?

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While a person’s application is being processed, they are accommodated by the government’s Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) in Direct Provision centres around the country. These centres are a communal style of accommodation, where families are often housed in one room, and single people usually share a room with other single adults, quite often up to four people in one room.  Shower and toilet facilities are often shared. Meals are cooked for the residents, and served at a set time each day in a canteen.

Published: 9th April, 2020

Updated: 20th April, 2020

Author: Vikki Walshe

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Do people seeking asylum receive social welfare?

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While in this process people are not entitled to usual social welfare payments, although they may apply for an exceptional needs payment from the local Community Welfare Officer. People receive a weekly allowance of €29.80 for children and €38.80 for adults. This must cover any additional expenses a person may have. People in this system also receive a medical card.

Published: 10th April, 2020

Updated: 20th April, 2020

Author: Vikki Walshe

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Can people in the asylum process work?

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In July 2018 Ireland transposed the European Union which states how people seeking protection should be treated while they wait for their application to be decided. One of the changes made as a result of this law was that people who have waited for more than nine months for their application for protection to be decided can apply for permission to work.

To see how other EU member states apply the right to work visit the Asylum and Information Database.

Published: 11th April, 2020

Updated: 13th April, 2020

Author: Vikki Walshe

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Can children who are seeking asylum or recognised as refugees go to school?

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All children that have been given refugee status are entitled to the same rights as Irish children including the same access to education.

Children that are waiting for a decision on their asylum application can attend primary and secondary school, but they are not entitled to free fees for college and must pay non-EU fees which they usually cannot afford. Remember, people seeking asylum receive only €29.80 for children and €38.80 for adults. This must cover any additional expenses a person may have. It would take a long time to save enough for college fees.

Published: 12th April, 2020

Updated: 13th April, 2020

Author: Vikki Walshe

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How long do people wait in this system?

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A person who claims asylum today, whose case is not prioritised, will likely wait 19 months for their first substantive interview. Under the old legislation people were spending an average of three – four years in the system.

Published: 13th April, 2020

Author: Vikki Walshe

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Showing 10 of 9

Latest

  • Vacancy: Community Sponsorship Development Officer

    Vacancy: Community Sponsorship Development Officer

    Deadline 28 January

  • Grifols 5K for the Irish Refugee Council resources

  • Grifols 5K run for the Irish Refugee Council

    Grifols 5K run for the Irish Refugee Council

  • New report: Putting children's rights at the heart of decision-making in cases involving children on the move

    New report: Putting children's rights at the heart of decision-making in cases involving children on the move

Most read

  • Joint Statement: EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

    Joint Statement: EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

  • Submission to the Oireachtas Covid-19 response committee

    Submission to the Oireachtas Covid-19 response committee

  • Move Most Vulnerable Out of Direct Provision Centres Now

    Move Most Vulnerable Out of Direct Provision Centres Now

    Infectious Disease Specialist urges Government to remove most at risk in Direct Provision centres immediately and labels the facilities ‘Powder Kegs’.

  • Grifols 5K run for the Irish Refugee Council

    Grifols 5K run for the Irish Refugee Council

  • Budget 2021 submission

    Budget 2021 submission

  • Healthcare workers seek to move out of Direct Provision

    Healthcare workers seek to move out of Direct Provision

    We spoke to RTÉ about the issue of people doing essential in healthcare but living in Direct Provision

  • Irish Refugee Council welcome report: The Ombudsman & Direct Provision: Update for 2019

    Irish Refugee Council welcome report: The Ombudsman & Direct Provision: Update for 2019

  • Call for urgent implementation of vulnerability assessment, two years after it became mandatory

    Call for urgent implementation of vulnerability assessment, two years after it became mandatory

  • Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre and the Irish Refugee Council welcome Catherine Day Advisory Group report

    Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre and the Irish Refugee Council welcome Catherine Day Advisory Group report

  • Irish Refugee Council welcome commitment to end Direct Provision

    Irish Refugee Council welcome commitment to end Direct Provision

Our response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Read more

Published: 27th April, 2020

Updated: 12th June, 2020

Author: Nick Henderson

Latest tweet

  • RT @eldarwish90: my latest work for @MiddleEastEye about @IzzCafe , a great example of immigrants who are giving back to the Irish c… https://t.co/Mbh1zx5eZm

    16thJanuary, 2021 @IrishRefugeeCo
  • By @HBtoons #DirectProvision #motherandbabyhomes https://t.co/2Z1HbbYhqx

    16thJanuary, 2021 @IrishRefugeeCo
  • RT @ecre: #ECREWeekly Bulletin @ecre ❄️❄️Balkan Route: Life-threatening Conditions for People trapped in Bosnia as Temperat… https://t.co/Jp5JXjZFTA

    15thJanuary, 2021 @IrishRefugeeCo
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