The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has been contacted today by the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) regarding an RTE Radio Report this morning covering the launch today of the IHRC’s Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which RIA felt may have created the impression that the State routinely detains asylum seekers. The Commission accepts that this is not the case and the Commission’s report to the Committee did not state that.
However, the Commission reiterates its view that where people are detained at the end of the asylum process prior to deportation, they should only be detained in appropriate facilities that meet international human rights standards and for the shortest time possible.