50 signatures reached
To: Senior Fine Gael Ministers and the Irish Government
Right to Work for Asylum Seekers in Ireland
Remove restrictions on the right to work for asylum seekers in Ireland.
Permit immediate right to work for people who have claimed asylum in Ireland.
Permits provided for asylum seekers indicating the right to work must be valid for at least 12 months.
Why is this important?
Asylum seekers are restricted from working in Ireland until they have been in the country for over 9 months.
Prior to 2018 Asylum Seeker in Ireland were banned from working indefinitely. This was overturned because a Supreme Court ruling in a case, NHV, decided Ireland's policies violated fundamental rights.
These historical policies restricting asylum seekers from working fuelled a cycle where people become trapped in direct provision centres and are subjected to inadequate living standards.
The restrictions still imposed since 2018 are still much longer than other EU Countries such as Sweden and Portugal which allow asylum seekers to work immediately.
Ireland had a recent chance to improve the lives of asylum seekers considerably and choose less restrictive options available to them when allowing asylum seekers to work. They chose lengthier waiting options for the right to work.
This is contrary to recent rhetoric offered by some Irish politicians. (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/direct-provision-system-not-comparable-with-a-man-killed-by-police-varadkar-1.4270979)
Allowing asylum seekers a right to work is a step towards combating racism in Ireland, slightly ameliorating the detrimental impact of direct provision in Ireland, and recognising the human rights and dignity of asylum seekers in Ireland.
MASI are an excellent grassroots organisation who are campaigning tirelessly on this issues. They can be followed and supported here: https://www.masi.ie/support-us/
*The views expressed above are my own and are I am not directly attributing them to any of the organisations mentioned