European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018

• Jurisdiction: Ireland

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

1. Citation and commencement

2. Interpretation

3. Provision of information to recipient

4. Provision of material reception conditions

5. Variation of material reception conditions where recipient in receipt of income

6. Withdrawal or reduction of material reception conditions

7. Designation of accommodation centre

8. Vulnerable persons

9. Minors

10. Unaccompanied minors

11. Labour market access permission

12. Withdrawal of labour market access permission

13. Review of Schedule 6

14. Obligations of employers

15. Offences

16. Applicant under age of 18

17. Right to Education

18. Right to health care

19. Detention

20. Review of certain decisions made under Regulations

21. Appeal

22. Recipient may request permission to make late appeal

23. Review of other decisions relating to reception conditions

24. Data Protection

25. House Rules

26. Service of notices

27. Attribution of delay in making of first instance decision

28. Amendment of Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001

29. Amendment of Act of 2015

30. Amendment of Regulations of 2013

31. Amendment of International Protection Act 2015 (Places of Detention) Regulations 2016

32. Amendment of Regulations of 2018

S.I. No. 230 of 2018

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (RECEPTION CONDITIONS) REGULATIONS 2018

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 6th July, 2018.

I, CHARLES FLANAGAN, Minister for Justice and Equality, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive 2013/33/EU of 26 June 20131 , hereby make the following regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on 30 June 2018.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“Act of 1996” means the Refugee Act 1996 (No. 17 of 1996);

“Act of 2015” means theInternational Protection Act 2015 (No. 66 of 2015);

“accommodation centre” means a premises designated by the Minister in accordance with Regulation 7, but does not include a reception centre;

“applicant”, subject to paragraph (2), means any of the following:

(a) an applicant under the Act of 2015;

(b) an applicant under the Act of 1996, to whom a declaration, within the meaning of that Act, has not, under section 17 of that Act, been given or refused;

(c) a person who has made an application for subsidiary protection under Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 2006, in respect of which a determination has not been made under that Regulation;

(d) a person who has made an application within the meaning of the Regulations of 2013, to whom a subsidiary protection declaration has not, under Regulation 20 of those Regulations, been given or refused;

“daily expenses allowance” means that part of the material reception conditions that constitutes a weekly payment made, under a scheme administered by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, to a recipient in order for the recipient to meet incidental, personal expenses;

“Directive” means Council Directive 2013/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 20131 , laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast);

“family member ”, in relation to a recipient, means the following persons who were members of the recipient’s family in the country of origin, who are present in the State and who have made, or who are deemed to have made, a protection application:

(a) the spouse or civil partner of the recipient or his or her unmarried partner in a stable relationship;

(b) the unmarried, minor children of the recipient;

(c) where the recipient is a minor and unmarried—

(i) the recipient’s father or mother or another adult responsible under law for the recipient, and

(ii) the minor, unmarried children of the recipient’s father or mother;

“final decision” means, in relation to—

(a) an application under section 15 of the Act of 2015, the giving, under section 47 of that Act, by the Minister of a refugee declaration or a subsidiary protection declaration to the applicant or, as the case may be, the refusal by the Minister under that section to give such a declaration to the applicant,

(b) an application under section 8 of the Act of 1996, the giving by the Minister under section 17 of that Act of a declaration, within the meaning of that Act, or, as the case may be, a refusal by the Minister to give such a declaration to the applicant,

(c) an application under Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 2006, a determination under paragraph (4) or (5) of Regulation 4(4) of those Regulations in respect of the applicant, and

(d) an application under Regulation 3 of the Regulations of 2013, the giving by the Minister, under Regulation 20 of those Regulations, of a subsidiary protection declaration to the applicant or, as the case may be, the refusal by the Minister under that Regulation to give such a declaration to the applicant;

“first instance decision” means, in relation to—

(a) an application under section 15 of the Act of 2015, a recommendation under section 39 of that Act,

(b) an application under section 8 of the Act of 1996, a recommendation under section 13 of that Act,

(c) an application under Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 2006, a determination under paragraph (4) or (5) of Regulation 4 of those Regulations, and

(d) an application under Regulation 3 of the Regulations of 2013, a recommendation under Regulation 6 of those Regulations;

“foreign national” has the meaning assigned to it in section 1(1) of the Employment Permits Act 2003 ;

“house rules”, means, in relation to an accommodation centre or reception centre, rules made by the Minister under Regulation 25 that apply to that centre;

“labour market access permission” means a permission granted or renewed by the Minister under Regulation 11;

“material reception conditions” means the following provided to a recipient for the purposes of compliance with the Directive—

(a) the housing, food and associated benefits provided in kind,

(b) the daily expenses allowance, and

(c) clothing provided by way of financial allowance under section 201 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ;

“Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality;

“minor” means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years;

“protection application” means any one of the following:

(a) an application under section 15 of the Act of 2015;

(b) an application under section 8 of the Act of 1996;

(c) an application under Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 2006;

(d) an application under Regulation 3 of the Regulations of 2013;

(e) an application under Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 2017;

(f) an appeal under Regulation 16(2) of the Regulations of 2018;

“reception centre” means a place at which a recipient is accommodated upon becoming a recipient but before an accommodation centre is designated under Regulation 7 in respect of him or her;

“reception conditions” mean all of the benefits provided to a recipient in accordance with these Regulations;

“recipient”, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), means—

(a) a person who—

(i) has given, or is deemed under paragraph (5) to have given, an indication referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 13(1) of the Act of 2015, and

(ii) has not ceased, under paragraph (4), to be a recipient, and

(b) an applicant;

“recipient with special reception needs” means a recipient who is vulnerable and who has been assessed, in accordance with Regulation 8, as being in need of special guarantees in order to benefit from his or her entitlements, and to comply with his or her obligation, under these Regulations;

“Regulations of 2006” means the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 518 of 2006 );

“Regulations of 2013” means the European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013 ( S.I. No. 426 of 2013 );

“Regulations of 2017” means the European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2017 ( S.I. No. 409 of 2017 );

“Regulations of 2018” means the European Union (Dublin System) Regulations 2018 ( S.I. No. 62 of 2018 );

“relevant reception conditions” means the benefits referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of “material reception conditions”;

“unaccompanied minor” means a minor who is not accompanied by an adult who is taking responsibility for the care and protection of the minor and includes a minor who is left unaccompanied after he or she has entered the State;

“UNHCR” means the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and includes the representative in the State of that organisation;

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, where a transfer decision, within the meaning of the Regulations of 2018, is made in respect of an applicant, he or she shall, on and from the date of the sending to him or her of the notification under Regulation 5(2) of those Regulations of the making of the transfer decision—

(a) cease to be an applicant, and

(b) be deemed to be a recipient but not an applicant.

(3) For the purposes of these Regulations, a person who has made an appeal under Regulation 16(2) of the Regulations of 2018, in respect of which appeal the International Protection Appeals Tribunal has not made a decision, shall be deemed to be a recipient but not an applicant.

(4) A person shall cease to be a recipient if, within 30 working days of giving an indication referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 13(1) of the Act of 2015, he or she does not make, or is not deemed under that section to have made, an application for international protection under section 15 of the Act of 2015.

(5) A reference in these...