Irish Refugee Council publishes FAQ document on international protection process

The Irish Refugee Council has published a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions document about issues that relate to international protection and refugee rights. 

In the updated FAQ document, the Irish Refugee Council aims to set out the rights, entitlements and duties related to people seeking protection in Ireland. 

The document has been created to clearly explain the international protection procedure and process.

It also answers many questions that are frequently asked as well as queries related to issues like the right to work, accommodation provision, social welfare, and the legal basis for these entitlements.

On top of this, the document explains the difference in terms like ‘international protection applicant’ and ‘refugee’. It also sets out the criteria and thresholds that are necessary to be recognised as a refugee or to receive a different type of protection or permission to remain in the country. 

Some of the questions that the document clearly answers are: “How does the Internal Protection process work?”, “Why has there been an increase in applications?”, “Do protection applicants have the right to social welfare or social housing?”, and “Can people in the process work?”, among others. 

Ciara Ross, Policy and Advocacy Officer, explained, “An unfortunate development over these past months has been the amplification of misinformation and divisive narratives from those who seek to sow division and unrest in our communities”.

“We believe that in Ireland we still have a shared vision of a cohesive, safe society, where people can live with dignity and hope. We believe that all people deserve to aspire to this, regardless of their background, and we are privileged to work with a most inspiring, resilient cohort of individuals”.

“We are most concerned about the normalising of harmful stereotyping and the distinct lack of easy to access, understandable information on protection issues, and hope this document is helpful”.

Ross added, “The FAQ provides accurate information on the international protection process, people's rights and entitlements related to seeking protection, and the legislative duties we have domestically and as a member state of the European Union”.