On June 12, the Department of Justice announced sweeping changes to Ireland’s family reunification and asylum system. The new policy includes stricter restrictions on family reunification rights and citizenship applications.

Government officials are in the process of drafting the heads of a new bill, as legislation will be required for many of the changes to take effect. However, the changes to the family reunification policy will come into place immediately, requiring applicants to meet unrealistic income thresholds and narrowing the opportunity—in some cases taking it away entirely—for those who have been the recipient of housing or other social welfare supports.

“It is difficult to comprehend the inhumanity of a policy that denies someone who has a disability or is caring for another family member the opportunity to reunite with their husband, wife or child. These are individuals already under significant pressure, and they should not be punished for receiving basic state supports, such as the one-parent family payment or disability allowance,” said Doras CEO, John Lannon.

“We all have a right to family life, no matter where we are from, how much we earn or our immigration status. The Minister’s new policy is sending a strong message that people who are recognised as refugees in Ireland do not deserve the same fundamental rights as others.”

“Minister O’Callaghan and Minister Brophy have, with a few strokes of a pen, made the intentional decision of keeping families apart, possibly forever,” added Irish Refugee Council CEO, Nick Henderson.

“The statutory instruments published [on Tuesday, June 16] place cruel and nearly insurmountable barriers in front of refugees in Ireland who are attempting to reunify with their husbands, wives or children. They exclude people who have received a disability or carers’ allowance.

“Family reunification for refugees, a basic principle of refugee protection, is now near dead in Ireland. They also remove a safe, legal pathway to protection for family members of refugees. This will force people into living in separation or to take dangerous journeys to reunite with loved ones. It will also keep family members in places where they are unsafe and in danger.”

 

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In the previous policy, it was explicitly laid out that “in cases involving a child, the best interests of that child will be a key consideration in any decision made”. The new one does not have this clause in the assessment of reunification cases.

Legal academics have come forward to say that the best interests of the child are what matters most in such cases, as stated in Article Three of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to which Ireland became a signatory in 1992. “In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration,” as dictated in the convention. In rudimentary terms, this means that the interests of the child prevail over the interests of the state.

A spokesperson from the Department of Justice has said that they had “restructured” the old policy so that there was now a minimum earning threshold before they could bring their family members over. Officials have claimed that they are still considering children’s best interests, pointing out a clause in the new policy that mentions “child protection”. “In the case of children or vulnerable adults, ensuring that no child protection or other concerns arise,” that clause says.

Patrícia Nabuco Martuscelli, lecturer in international relations at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, has said that mentioning “child protection” is not the same as explicitly saying that children’s best interests will be prioritised. It is broad and vague, she explained, and can mean different things to different people.

“Best interests of the child” is mentioned in the policy’s new asylum law, stating how the asylum process should treat children who are here on their own. However, unlike the family reunification policy, the asylum law is required to be in step with the EU’s Asylum and Migration Management Regulation—better known as the EU Pact—which embraces the best interests in principle.

Mark Klaassen, assistant professor at the Europa Institute of Leiden University in the Netherlands, said that “it’s telling indeed that, like, first it was there, and now it’s not there anymore.”

When a child’s best interests are guaranteed, it means that there are kinder procedures that are there to accommodate their needs, said Martuscelli. Both Klaassen and Martuscelli said that by leaving it out of the new policy, it is taking a harsher view and narrows access to family reunification in Ireland.

It has already been flagged by officials with concerns over the hardened rules that narrow refugees’ rights to bring over close family members. Under past policies, refugees had one year after getting status to apply to be reunited with close family; this was without having to meet any income thresholds.

The new policy requires people to wait two years after being granted sanctuary to apply; individuals will also now have to meet the minimum wage threshold (exceptions are made for minors, unable to get a job) and not be receiving social housing aid or social welfare.

Martuscelli has said that adding things like the two-year waiting period for every refugee means that the best interests of children haven’t been considered when government officials were drawing up these policies. “We’re talking about child development. If a child is separated from a main carer, this can have very detrimental effects later in life.”

Prioritising children’s needs means closing the distance between them and their parents as quickly as possible. This is particularly important if the child is younger, Martuscelli said, so they won’t grow up with scars of childhood separation long-term.