11.—(1) The Refugee Act, 1996, is hereby amended—

(a) in section 1(1), by—

(i) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “the Appeal Board”:

“‘the Tribunal’ means the Refugee Appeals Tribunal established by section 15;”, and

(ii) the insertion of the following definition:

“‘working day’ means any day not being a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday;”,

(b) by the insertion of the following section after section 7:

“Establishment of Refugee Advisory Board.

7A. —(1) There shall be a board to be known as the Refugee Advisory Board (in this Act referred to as ‘the Board’) to perform the functions conferred on it by this Act.

(2) The Board shall be independent in the performance of its functions.

(3) The provisions of the Schedule to this section shall have effect in relation to the Board.

(4) (a) The Board shall, in every second year beginning with the year 2001, prepare and submit to the Minister a report in writing on the operation in the preceding 2 years of this Act and may include in the report information and comment in respect of asylum policy and refugees including any proposals to amend legislation and recommendations regarding the practice or procedures of public or private bodies in relation to applicants and any other matters relating to such operation coming to its attention to which it considers that his or her attention should be drawn and, not later than 1 month after such submission, the Minister shall cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(b) The Board shall, at the request of the Minister, prepare and furnish to him or her a report in writing on such matters relating to the performance of its functions as the Minister may specify and as soon as may be after the receipt by the Minister of the report, he or she shall cause a copy of it to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(5) The Commissioner shall, whenever so requested by the Board, furnish to the Board information in relation to such matters as the Board may specify relating to the performance of its functions.

Subsection (3).

SCHEDULE

Refugee Advisory Board

1. The Board shall consist of a chairperson and 14 ordinary members who shall be appointed to be members of the Board by the Minister.

2. The Commissioner shall be a member of the Board and shall act as secretary to the Board.

3. Of the members of the Board—

(a) one shall be a representative of the Minister nominated by the Minister,

(b) one shall be a representative of the Minister for Foreign Affairs nominated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs,

(c) one shall be a representative of the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs nominated by the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs,

(d) one shall be a representative of the Minister for Education and Science nominated by the Minister for Education and Science,

(e)one shall be a representative of the Minister for Health and Children nominated by the Minister for Health and Children,

(f) one shall be a representative of the Minister for the Environment and Local Government nominated by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government,

(g) one shall be a representative of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment nominated by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment,

(h) six shall be women and six shall be men.

4. The High Commissioner shall be given not less than 7 days' notice in writing of the date and time of each meeting of the Board and shall be entitled to be present at and heard at each meeting either in person or through a representative.

5. In the selection of persons for appointment to membership of the Board regard shall be had to—

(a) the desirability of ensuring that a person or persons representative of refugees and applicants is or are appointed to membership of the Board, and

(b) the person's interest in or knowledge of asylum and the provision of protection and assistance to refugees or his or her competence otherwise to assist the Board in the performance of its functions.

6. Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, the members of the Board shall hold office upon such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine.

7. The term of office of a member of the Board shall be 5 years and, subject to the provisions of this Schedule, a member shall be eligible for reappointment.

8. Where a casual vacancy occurs among the members of the Board, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Board to fill the vacancy and a member so appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the term of office for which his or her predecessor had been appointed, and the person shall be so appointed in the manner specified in paragraph 3 or 5, as the case may be, in which such predecessor was so appointed.

9. Members of the Board shall be paid such remuneration and such allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may from time to time determine.

10. The Minister may remove from office any member of the Board who, in the opinion of the Minister, has become incapable through illness of effectively performing his or her functions or has committed stated misbehaviour.

11. The Board shall meet at least four times a year.”,

(c) in section 8, by—

(i) the substitution in subsection (1) of the following paragraph for paragraph (c):

“(c) A person who at any time is in the State (whether lawfully or unlawfully) and is seeking the status of a refugee in the State may apply to the Minister for a declaration and, if he or she does so, shall be interviewed by an authorised officer or an immigration officer at such times as may be specified by the authorised officer or the immigration officer, as the case may be, who shall also inform the person that he or she is entitled to consult a solicitor and the High Commissioner and the person shall make himself or herself available for such interview at the times so specified.”,

(ii) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) An interview under subsection (1) shall, in relation to the person the subject of the interview, seek to establish inter alia—

(a) whether the person wishes to make an application for a declaration and, if he or she does so wish, the general grounds upon which the application is based,

(b) the identity of the person,

(c) the nationality and country of origin of the person,

(d) the mode of transport used and the route travelled by the person to the State,

(e) the reason why the person came to the State, and

(f) the legal basis for the entry into or presence in the State of the person,

and shall, where necessary and possible, be conducted with the assistance of an interpreter and a record of the interview shall be kept by the officer conducting it and a copy of it shall be furnished to the person and, if the interview was conducted by an immigration officer, to the Commissioner.”,

(iii) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) (a) The Commissioner shall notify the High Commissioner in writing of the making of an application and the notice shall include the name of the applicant and the name of his or her country of origin and such other information as the Minister may specify by notice in writing addressed to the Commissioner.

(b) The Commissioner shall furnish a copy of the record of any interview under subsection (1)—

(i) to the Minister, and

(ii) to the High Commissioner whenever so requested by him or her in writing.”,

(iv) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) An application under subsection (1) shall be made in writing in the prescribed form or in a form to the like effect and shall be addressed to the Commissioner.”,

and

(v) the substitution in subsection (5) of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) Where it appears to an immigration officer or an authorised officer that a child under the age of 18 years, who has either arrived at the frontiers of the State or has entered the State, is not in the custody of any person, the officer shall, as soon as practicable, so inform the health board in whose functional area the child is and thereupon the provisions of the Child Care Act, 1991, shall apply in relation to the child.”,

(d) in section 9, by—

(i) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) (a) The Commissioner shall give or cause to be given to a person referred to in subsection (2) a temporary residence certificate (in this section referred to as ‘a certificate’) stating the name and containing a photograph of the person and such other information relating to the person as may be prescribed and specifying the date on which the person's application for a declaration was received by the Commissioner and stating that, subject to the provisions of this Act, and, without prejudice to any other permission or leave granted to the person to remain in the State, the person shall not be removed from the State before the final determination of his or her application.

(b) A certificate shall remain the property of the Minister.

(c) A certificate shall be deemed to be a registration certificate for the purposes of Article 15 of the Aliens Order, 1946 (S.R.& O., No. 395 of 1946) and a person who is issued with a certificate shall be deemed to have complied with Article 11(1)(a) of that Order.

(d) If a person forges, or fraudulently alters, or assists in forging or fraudulently altering, or procures the forging or fraudulent alteration of a certificate, that person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both.”,

and

(ii) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (15):

“(15) A person referred to in subsection (1) shall not be given leave to enter the State under that subsection if he or she is the subject of an order under section 4 of the Immigration Act, 1999.”,

(e) by the insertion after section 9 of the following section:

“Powers of authorised officers and immigration officers.

9A.—(1) An authorised officer or an immigration officer may, for the purposes of this Act, take or cause to be taken the fingerprints of an applicant above the age of 14 years.

(2) An applicant who refuses to permit his or her fingerprints to be taken pursuant to subsection (1) shall be deemed not to have made reasonable efforts to establish his or her true identity within the meaning of section 9(8)(c) and to have deliberately obstructed the investigation of his or her application within the meaning of section 12(4)(f).

(3) Every fingerprint of an applicant taken pursuant to subsection (1) and every copy thereof shall, if not previously destroyed, be destroyed—

(a) in case the applicant becomes a citizen of the State, before the expiration of one month after the granting of the certificate of naturalisation or of Irish citizenship to him or her or the acknowledgement by the Minister of the validity of his or her declaration accepting Irish citizenship, as the case may be;

(b) in any other case, before the expiration of 10 years after the taking of such fingerprints.

(4) Information obtained pursuant to subsection (1) may be communicated to convention countries as if it was information to which section 22(9) relates.”,

(f) in section 10, by the substitution of “the Tribunal” for “the Appeal Board” in each place where it occurs,

(g) in section 11, by—

(i) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to section 12, where an application is received by the Commissioner under section 8 or is remitted to him or her under section 16 or otherwise referred to him or her by the Minister and the application is not withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn pursuant to section 9 or 22, it shall be the function of the Commissioner to investigate the application for the purpose of ascertaining whether the applicant is a person in respect of whom a declaration should be given.”,

(ii) the substitution in subsection (2) for “section 12(2)” of “section 12(1)(a)”,

(iii) the insertion in subsection (3) after “may” of “, at any time but not later than 7 working days after the conduct of an interview under subsection (2),”,

(iv) the insertion in subsection (6) after “the applicant concerned” of “and the High Commissioner, whenever so requested by him or her,”,

(v) the substitution in subsection (8) for “Where an application is referred to the Commissioner under section 8, 16 or 22, or otherwise by the Minister” of “On receipt by the Commissioner of an application under the provisions of this Act,”, and

(vi) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (8):

“(9) Where an applicant does not attend for interview with an authorised officer under this section, the Commissioner shall by notice in writing require the applicant to attend for interview at such other time and place as shall be specified in the notice and the notice shall state that if the applicant does not, without reasonable cause, comply with the requirement the Commissioner shall make a recommendation that the applicant should not be declared to be a refugee.”,

(h) in section 12, by—

(i) the substitution of the following subsection for subsections (1) to (3):

“(1) Where at any time during the investigation of an application by the Commissioner under section 11 (other than an application remitted to the Commissioner under section 16), the Commissioner is of opinion that the application is manifestly unfounded, he or she shall, as soon as may be—

(a) in case he or she forms the opinion before the interview of the applicant concerned under section 11(2), notify the applicant of his or her opinion (including the reasons for it) and the notice shall require the applicant to attend for interview in accordance with section 11(2) at such time and place as shall be specified in the notice,

(b) in case he or she forms, or, as the case may be, remains of, the opinion after the interview of the applicant concerned under section 11(2) and following consideration of any report furnished under section 11(2) and any representations made under section 11(3), make a recommendation that the applicant concerned should not be declared to be a refugee and shall send a copy of the recommendation and of the reasons for it to—

(i) the applicant,

(ii) the applicant's solicitor (if known), and

(iii) the High Commissioner.”,

and

(ii) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (5):

“(5) The Commissioner shall, when sending a copy of the recommendation to the applicant under subsection (1)(b), at the same time send to the applicant a notice in writing stating that the applicant may appeal to the Tribunal under section 16 against the recommendation within 10 working days from the sending of the notice.”,

(i) in section 13, by—

(i) the deletion in subsection (1) of “and shall furnish the report to the Minister”,

(ii) the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (2):

“(2) The Commissioner shall notify the High Commissioner of the making of the recommendation under subsection (1).

(3) (a) The Commissioner shall send a copy of a report under subsection (1) to the applicant concerned, to his or her solicitor (if known) and, if so requested by the High Commissioner, to him or her.

(b) Where a report under subsection (1) includes a recommendation that the applicant should not be declared to be a refugee, the Commissioner shall send to the applicant a notice in writing stating that the applicant may appeal to the Tribunal under section 16 against the recommendation and may request an oral hearing within 15 working days from the sending of the notice.

(c) Where the applicant has not appealed against the recommendation within 21 days after the sending of a notice under paragraph (b), the Commissioner shall, as soon as may be, furnish the report under subsection (1) to the Minister.

(d) Where a report under subsection (1) includes a recommendation that the applicant should be declared to be a refugee, the Commissioner, shall as soon as may be, furnish the report to the Minister.”,

(j) by the substitution of the following section for section 15:

“15.—(1) On the establishment day there shall stand established a Tribunal to be known as the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (in this Act referred to as ‘the Tribunal’) to consider and decide appeals under section 16 of this Act.

(2) The Tribunal shall be independent in the performance of its functions.

(3) The provisions of the Second Schedule shall have effect in relation to the Tribunal.',

(k) in section 16, by—

(i) the substitution for “Appeal Board” of “Tribunal” in subsections (1) to (12) and (16),

(ii) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where an applicant fails, without reasonable cause, to attend an oral hearing under subsection (10), the Tribunal shall affirm a recommendation of the Commissioner under section 13.”,

(iii) the substitution in subsection (3) for “and shall indicate” of “and, in the case of a recommendation by the Commissioner under section 13(3)(b), shall indicate”,

(iv) the substitution in subsection (4) for “to the Minister, the Commissioner and the High Commissioner” of “to the Commissioner and notification of the making of the appeal to the High Commissioner”,

(v) the substitution in subsection (8) for “solicitor (if known)” of “solicitor (if known) and the High Commissioner whenever so requested by him or her” and for “furnished to the applicant” of “furnished to the applicant or, as the case may be, the High Commissioner”, and

(vi) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (17):

“(17) (a) A decision of the Tribunal under subsection (2) and the reasons therefor shall be communicated by the Tribunal to the applicant concerned and his or her solicitor (if known).

(b) A decision of the Tribunal under subsection (2) (other than a decision of the Tribunal under subsection (2)(d) and the reasons therefor shall be communicated by the Tribunal to the Minister together with a copy of the report of the Commissioner under section 13.

(c) A decision of the Tribunal under subsection (2) shall be communicated to the High Commissioner.”,

(l) in section 17, by—

(i) the substitution in subsection (1) for “Appeal Board” of “Tribunal”,

(ii) the substitution in subsection (5) of the following paragraph for paragraph (c):

“(c) the Minister may make an order under section 3 of the Immigration Act, 1999, requiring the applicant to leave the State and if the notice contains the statement specified in subsection (4) of that section, it shall not be necessary for the Minister to give the notification specified in the subsection (3) of that section,”,

and

(iii) the deletion of subsection (8),

(m) in section 19, by the substitution in subsection (1) for “Appeal Board” of “Board, the Tribunal”,

(n) in section 20, by—

(i) the substitution in subsections (2) to (5) for “6 months” of “12 months”, and

(ii) the substitution in subsection (2) for “the Appeal Board or to an authorised officer” of “the Tribunal, an authorised officer or an immigration officer”,

(o) in section 21, by—

(i) the substitution in subsection (1)(h) for “Appeal Board” of “Tribunal”, and

(ii) the substitution in subsections (3), (4) and (6) for “21 days” of “15 working days”,

(p) in section 22, by—

(i) the substitution in subsection (2) (c) for “until it has been decided by the person specified in an order under this section” of “until he or she has decided”,

(ii) the substitution in subsection (2) (d) for “which has been referred to the Commissioner under section 8” of “which is being investigated by the Commissioner”,

(iii) the substitution in subsection (2)(h) for “the referral of an application for asylum to the Commissioner” of “the investigation of an application for asylum by the Commissioner”,

(iv) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) (a) The Commissioner shall determine the matters referred to in subsection (2) (a).

(b) The Tribunal shall consider and decide appeals under subsection (2)(b).”,

and

(v) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (9):

“(9) (a) The Minister shall, pursuant to Article 14 of the Dublin Convention, communicate information to convention countries in relation to matters referred to in that Article.

(b) The Commissioner shall, pursuant to Article 15 of the Dublin Convention, communicate information to convention countries in relation to matters referred to in that Article:

Provided that information concerning the grounds on which a particular application for asylum is based or the grounds on which a decision concerning such an application is based shall not be communicated under this section without the prior consent of the person the subject of the application.”,

(q) in section 23, by the substitution in paragraph (b) for “Appeal Board” of “Tribunal”,

(r) in section 28, by the substitution for “commencement of this Act” of “commencement of this section”,

(s) by the substitution of the following Schedule for the First Schedule—

“FIRST SCHEDULE

Section 6.

Refugee Applications Commissioner

1. The position of Commissioner shall be a position in the Civil Service (within the meaning of the Civil Service Commissioners Act, 1956) and a person shall not be appointed to be the Commissioner unless the Civil Service Commissioners, within the meaning aforesaid, after holding a competition under section 15 of that Act, have, under section 17 of that Act, selected him or her for appointment to the position.

2. The term of office of the Commissioner shall be 5 years and a person may be reappointed to the office for a second or subsequent term.

3. The Commissioner shall be paid such remuneration and such allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may from time to time determine.

4. The Commissioner—

(a) may at any time resign his or her office by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect on and from the date of receipt of the letter,

(b) may at any time be removed from office by the Minister if, in the opinion of the Minister, he or she has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing his or her functions or has committed stated misbehaviour, and

(c) shall in any case vacate his or her office on attaining the age of 65 years.

5. The Minister may appoint such and so many persons to be members of the staff of the Commissioner as he or she considers necessary to assist the Commissioner in the performance of his or her functions and such members shall receive such remuneration and be subject to such other terms and conditions of service as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determine.

6. Members of the staff of the Commissioner shall be civil servants within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956.

7. The Minister may delegate to the Commissioner the powers exercisable by him or her under the Civil Service Commissioners Act, 1956, and the Civil Service Regulation Acts, 1956 to 1996, as the appropriate authority in relation to members of the staff of the Commissioner and, if the Minister does so, then, so long as the delegation remains in force—

(a) those powers shall, in lieu of being exercisable by the Minister, be exercisable by the Commissioner, and

(b) the Commissioner shall, in lieu of the Minister, be for the purposes of this Act the appropriate authority in relation to members of the staff of the Commissioner.

8. (1) The Commissioner shall keep, in such form as may be approved of by the Minister, all proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by him or her and all such special accounts (if any) as the Minister may direct.

(2) Accounts kept in pursuance of this paragraph in respect of each year shall be submitted by the Commissioner for audit to the Comptroller and Auditor General in the following year on a date not later than a date specified by the Minister and, as soon as may be after the audit, a copy of those accounts, or of such extracts from those accounts as the Minister may specify, together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the accounts, shall be furnished by the Commissioner to the Minister who shall cause copies of the documents so furnished to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

9. The Commissioner may delegate to any members of the staff of the Commissioner any of his or her functions under this Act save those conferred by section 7.”,

(t) by the substitution of the following Schedule for the Second Schedule:

“SECOND SCHEDULE

Section 15.

Refugee Appeals Tribunal

1. The Tribunal shall consist of the following members—

(a) a chairperson, and

(b) such and such number of ordinary members as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, considers necessary for the expeditious dispatch of the business of the Tribunal,

each of whom shall have had not less than 10 years' experience as a practising barrister or practising solicitor before his or her appointment.

2. A person shall not be appointed to be the chairperson unless the Civil Service Commissioners, within the meaning aforesaid, have, under section 17 of that Act, selected him or her for appointment to the position.

3. The term of office of the chairperson shall be 5 years and a person may be reappointed to the office for a second or subsequent term.

4. Each ordinary member of the Tribunal shall be a part-time member and, subject to this Schedule, shall hold office for a term of 3 years on such terms and conditions as the Minister may, subject to the provisions of this Schedule, determine when appointing him or her.

5. The chairperson and each ordinary member shall be paid such remuneration and allowances and expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may from time to time determine.

6. A member of the Tribunal may resign his or her membership by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect from the date of receipt of the letter by the Minister.

7. An ordinary member of the Tribunal may be removed from office by the Minister for stated reasons.

8. If a member of the Tribunal dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint another person to be a member of the Tribunal to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned and the person so appointed shall be appointed in the same manner as the member of the Tribunal who occasioned the vacancy and shall hold office for the remainder of the term of office for which his or her predecessor was appointed.

9. The Minister may appoint such and so many persons to be members of the staff of the Tribunal as he or she considers necessary to assist the Tribunal in the performance of its functions and such members of the staff of the Tribunal shall receive such remuneration and be subject to such other terms and conditions of service as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determine.

10. Members of the staff of the Tribunal shall be civil servants within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956.

11. Whenever the Tribunal consists of more than one member, it shall be grouped into divisions each of which shall consist of one member.

12. The chairperson shall convene a meeting of the members of the Tribunal at least twice a year to review the work of the Tribunal and, where necessary, to make provision for training programmes for members of the Tribunal.

13. The chairperson shall assign to each division the business to be transacted by it.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on such day or days as by order or orders made by the Minister under this section may be fixed therefor either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions.