Application Decision
INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION ACT 2015
REVISED
Updated to 31 January 2024
An Act to restate and modify certain aspects of the law relating to the entry into and presence in the State of persons in need of international protection, while having regard also to the power of the Executive in relation to these matters, to give further effect to Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 20011 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof, to give further effect to Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 20042 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted, to give further effect to Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 20053 on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status, to give further effect to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on the 28th day of July 1951 and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on the 31st day of January 1967, to amend the Immigration Act 1999, the Immigration Act 2003 and the Immigration Act 2004, to amend or repeal certain other enactments, and to provide for related matters.
[30 th December, 2015]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C1
Act applied with modifications (6.03.2018) by European Union (Dublin System) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 62 of 2018), regs. 12(2), 15.
Applicant under section 8 of the Refugee Act 1996 or under section 15 of Act of 2015 to whom Article 18(1)(c) applies
12. …
(2) A person to whom this Regulation applies shall, notwithstanding section 22 of the Act of 2015, but without prejudice to section 21 of that Act, be deemed to have made, on the date on which this Regulation first applies to him or her, an application for international protection under section 15 of that Act, and, subject to this Regulation, the provisions of that Act shall, with any necessary modifications, apply accordingly.
…
Person to whom Regulation 13(2) or 14(2) applies.
15. Where a person is deemed under Regulation 13(2) or 14(2) to have made an application for international protection under section 15 of the Act of 2015, the provisions of that Act shall apply to the application, with the following modifications and any other necessary modifications—
(a) the application shall be deemed not to be an application for status in the State as a refugee on the basis of a refugee declaration but to be an application only for status in the State as a person eligible for subsidiary protection on the basis of a subsidiary protection declaration,
(b) for the purposes of the examination under Part 5 of that Act of the application, the person shall be deemed to be a person who should not be given a refugee declaration,
(c) for the purposes of section 39(3) of that Act—
(i) a recommendation referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection shall not be made in respect of the person, and
(ii) the recommendation of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, made under the Act of 1996 in respect of the person, shall be deemed to be a recommendation, referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of that subsection, of the international protection officer that the person should not be given a refugee declaration,
and
(d) an appeal to the Tribunal under section 41(1) of that Act against a recommendation under paragraph (b) or (c) of section 39(3) of that Act may be made only in respect of the part of the recommendation that recommends that the person should not be given a subsidiary protection declaration.
C2
References construed (6.03.2018) by European Union (Dublin System) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 62 of 2018), regs. 18(2), 19(2).
Provisions in relation to international protection officers
18. (1) An international protection officer shall be independent in the performance of his or her functions under these Regulations.
(2) A reference in the Act of 2015 to the functions of an international protection officer conferred on him or her by that Act shall be deemed to include a reference to the functions conferred on an international protection officer by these Regulations.
Provisions in relation to the Tribunal
19. (1) The Tribunal shall be independent in the performance of its functions under these Regulations.
(2) A reference in the Act of 2015 to—
(a) a function of the Tribunal, chairperson, deputy chairperson, registrar or a member of the Tribunal (including a reference to a function conferred by that Act) shall be deemed to include a reference to the functions conferred upon the Tribunal, chairperson, deputy chairperson, registrar or member, as the case may be, by these Regulations.
(b) the work or business of the Tribunal shall include a reference to the work or business of the Tribunal by virtue of these Regulations, and
(c) an applicant and an appeal shall include a reference to an applicant or an appeal, as the case may be, under these Regulations.
PART 1
Preliminary
Section 1
Short title and commencement
1. (1) This Act may be cited as the International Protection Act 2015.
(2) This Act comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister may, by order or orders, appoint either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.
(3) An order under subsection (2) may, in respect of the repeal of the Act specified in section 6(1) effected by that section, appoint different days for the repeal of different provisions of that Act.
Annotations
Editorial Notes:
E1
Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (16.04.2018) by International Protection Act 2015 (Section 6(2)(j)) (Commencement) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 119 of 2018).
2. The 16th day of April 2018 is appointed as the day on which section 6(2)(j) of the International Protection Act 2015 (No. 66 of 2015) comes into operation.
E2
Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (22.12.2016 and 31.12.2016) by Protection Act 2015 (Commencement) (No. 3) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 663 of 2016).
3. The 22nd day of December 2016 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the Act of 2015 come into operation:
(a) section 2 (insofar as it is not already in operation);
(b) section 3;
(c) section 15(5) (insofar as it relates to prescribing a form);
(d) section 17(2) (insofar as it relates to prescribing information);
(e) section 20(1) (insofar as it relates to prescribing places of detention);
(f) section 48(7);
(g) section 48(8);
(h) section 49(10);
(i) section 51(5);
(j) section 55(3);
(k) section 55(4);
(l) section 61(2).
4. The 31st day of December 2016 is appointed as the day on which the Act of 2015 (other than paragraphs (b), (f), (i), (j), (l), (m), and (p) of section 6(2)), insofar as it is not already in operation, comes into operation.
E3
Power pursuant to subs. (2) exercised (10.03.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 133 of 2016).
2. The 10th day of March 2016 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the International Protection Act 2015 (No. 66 of 2015) come into operation:
(a) section 78;
(b) section 80;
(c) section 81.
E4
Power pursuant to section exercised (11.01.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Commencement) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 26 of 2016).
2. The 11th day of January 2016 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the International Protection Act 2015 (No. 66 of 2015) come into operation.
(a) section 1;
(b) section 2, insofar as it relates to the repeal referred to in paragraph (c);
(c) section 6(1), insofar as it relates to the repeal of section 7A of the Refugee Act 1996 (No. 17 of 1996).
Section 2
Interpretation
2. (1) In this Act—
“Act of 1996” means the Refugee Act 1996;
“Act of 1999” means the Immigration Act 1999;
“Act of 2004” means the Immigration Act 2004;
“applicant” means a person who—
(a) has made an application for international protection in accordance with section 15, or on whose behalf such an application has been made or is deemed to have been made, and
(b) has not ceased, under subsection (2), to be an applicant;
“biometric information” means information relating to the distinctive physical characteristics of a person including—
(a) measurements or other assessments of those characteristics,
(b) information about those characteristics held in an automated form,
but does not include references to the DNA profile of a person, and references to the provision by a person of biometric information means its provision in a way that enables the identity of the person to be investigated or ascertained;
“chairperson” means the chairperson of the Tribunal;
“chief international protection officer” means the person appointed under section 75 to be the chief international protection officer;
“country of origin” means the country or countries of nationality or, for stateless persons, of former habitual residence;
“civil partner” means a civil partner within the meaning of section 3 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010;
“deportation order” shall be construed in accordance with section 51;
“deputy chairperson” means a deputy chairperson of the Tribunal;
“DNA profile” has the meaning it has in section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014;
“document” includes—
(a) any written matter,
(b) any photograph,
(c) any currency notes or counterfeit currency notes,
(d) any information in non-legible form that is capable of being converted into legible form,
(e) any audio or video recording, and
(f) a travel document or an identity document;
“Dublin Regulation” means Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 20134
“Dublin System Regulations” means any statutory instrument made by a Minister of the Government for the purpose of giving effect to the Dublin Regulation;
“establishment day” shall be construed in accordance with section 61(2);
“European Asylum Support Office” means the European Asylum Support Office established by Regulation (EU) No. 439/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 20105;
“Geneva Convention” means the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28 July 1951 (the text of which, in the English language, is, for convenience of reference, set out in Schedule 1) and includes the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on 31 January 1967 (the text of which, in the English language, is, for convenience of reference, set out in Schedule 2);
“High Commissioner” means the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;
“identity document” includes a passport, visa, transit visa, national identity card, entry permit, residence permit, driving licence, employment permit, birth certificate, marriage certificate or any other document establishing or contributing to establishing a person’s nationality or identity issued or purporting to be issued by or on behalf of a local or the national authority of a state, including the State, or by an organ or agency of the United Nations;
“immigration officer” has the meaning it has in section 3 of the Act of 2004;
“information” includes—
(a) information in the form of a document (or any other thing) or in any other form, and
(b) personal information, including biometric information;
“international protection” means status in the State either—
(a) as a refugee, on the basis of a refugee declaration, or
(b) as a person eligible for subsidiary protection, on the basis of a subsidiary protection declaration;
“international protection officer” means a person who is authorised under section 74 to perform the functions conferred on an international protection officer by or under this Act;
“legal assistance” means legal aid or legal advice, within the meaning of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995;
“legal representative” means a practising solicitor or a practising barrister;
“Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality;
“persecution” shall be construed in accordance with section 7;
“person eligible for subsidiary protection” means a person—
(a) who is not a national of a Member State of the European Union,
(b) who does not qualify as a refugee,
(c) in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that he or she, if returned to his or her country of origin, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm and who is unable or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, and
(d) who is not excluded under section 12 from being eligible for subsidiary protection;
“personal interview” means an interview held under section 35(1);
“preliminary interview” means an interview held under section 13(1);
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;
“protection” (except where the context otherwise requires) means protection against persecution or serious harm and shall be construed in accordance with section 31;
“qualified person” means a person who is either—
(a) a refugee and in relation to whom a refugee declaration is in force, or
(b) a person eligible for subsidiary protection and in relation to whom a subsidiary protection declaration is in force;
“refugee” means a person, other than a person to whom section 10 applies, who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, is outside his or her country of nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or a stateless person, who, being outside of the country of former habitual residence for the same reasons as mentioned above, is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to return to it;
“refugee declaration” means a statement, made in writing by the Minister, declaring that the person to whom it relates is a refugee;
“registered medical practitioner” means a person who is a registered medical practitioner within the meaning of section 2 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;
“Registrar” means the Registrar of the Tribunal appointed under section 66;
“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);
F1[“return order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 51A;]
“safe country of origin” means a country that has been designated under section 72 as a safe country of origin;
F1[“safe third country” means a country that has been designated under section 72A as a safe third country;]
“serious harm” means—
(a) death penalty or execution,
(b) torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of a person in his or her country of origin, or
(c) serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in a situation of international or internal armed conflict;
“serious non-political crime” includes particularly cruel actions, even if committed with an allegedly political objective;
“statute” means—
(a) an Act of the Oireachtas, or
(b) a statute that was in force in Saorstát Éireann immediately before the date of the coming into operation of the Constitution and that continues to be of full force and effect by virtue of Article 50 of the Constitution;
“statutory instrument” means an order, regulation, rule, scheme or bye-law made in exercise of a power conferred by statute;
“social welfare benefits” includes any payment or services provided under the Social Welfare Acts or the Health Acts 1947 to 2015 ;
“subsidiary protection declaration” means a statement, made in writing by the Minister, declaring that the person to whom it relates is a person eligible for subsidiary protection;
“Tribunal” means the International Protection Appeals Tribunal established by section 61.
(2) A person shall cease to be an applicant on the date on which—
(a) subject to subsection (3), the Minister refuses—
(i) under subsection (2) or (3) of section 47 to give the person a refugee declaration, or
(ii) under section 47(5) both to give a refugee declaration and to give a subsidiary protection declaration to the person,
(b) subject to subsection (3), he or she is first given, under section 54(1), a permission to reside in the State, or
(c) he or she is transferred from the State in accordance with the Dublin Regulation.
(3) Where—
(a) a recommendation referred to in section 39(3)(b) is made in respect of an applicant, and
(b) the applicant appeals under section 41(1)(a) against the recommendation,
notwithstanding the giving, under section 47(4)(a), of a subsidiary protection declaration to the applicant on the basis of the recommendation, he or she shall, for the purposes of this Act, remain an applicant until, following the decision of the Tribunal in relation to the appeal, the Minister, under section 47, gives or, as the case may be, refuses to give him or her a refugee declaration.
Annotations
Amendments:
F1
Inserted (31.12.2020 at 11.00 p.m.) by Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (23/2020), s. 117, S.I. No. 693 of 2020, subject to transitional provision in s. 116.
4 O.J. No. L180, 29.06.2013, p.31 or any Regulation amending or replacing that Regulation;
5 O.J. No. L132, 29.05.2010, p.11
Section 3
Regulations
3. (1) The Minister may by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.
(2) Different regulations may be made under this section in respect of different classes of matter the subject of the prescribing concerned.
(3) Without prejudice to any provision of this Act, regulations under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary, consequential and transitional provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.
(4) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after it is made and, if a resolution annulling such regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
Annotations
Editorial Notes:
E5
Power pursuant to section exercised (8.11.2022) by International Protection Act 2015 (Procedures and Periods for Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 542 of 2022), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E6
Power pursuant to section exercised (1.01.2021) by International Protection Act 2015 (Section 51B) (Places of Detention) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 727 of 2020), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E7
Power pursuant to section exercised (1.01.2021) by International Protection Act 2015 (Return Order) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 726 of 2020), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E8
Power pursuant to section exercised (29.03.2017) by International Protection Act 2015 (Procedures and Periods for Appeals) Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 116 of 2017).
E9
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Deportation) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 668 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E10
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Travel Document) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 667 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E11
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Places of Detention) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 666 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E12
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act (Voluntary Return) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 665 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E13
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act (Permission to Remain) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 664 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E14
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Temporary Residence Certificate) (Prescribed Information) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 662 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
E15
Power pursuant to section exercised (31.12.2016) by International Protection Act 2015 (Application for International Protection Form) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 660 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
Section 4
Expenses
4. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
PART 5
Examination of Applications at First Instance
Section 34
Examination of application
34. An international protection officer shall examine each application for international protection for the purpose of deciding whether to recommend, under section 39(2)(b), that—
(a) the applicant should be given a refugee declaration,
(b) the applicant should not be given a refugee declaration and should be given a subsidiary protection declaration, or
(c) the applicant should be given neither a refugee declaration nor a subsidiary protection declaration.
Section 35
Personal interview
35. (1) As part of the examination referred to in section 34, the international protection officer shall cause the applicant to be interviewed, at such time and place that the international protection officer may fix, in relation to the matters referred to in that section.
(2) An applicant interviewed under subsection (1) shall, whenever necessary for the purpose of ensuring appropriate communication during a personal interview, be provided by the Minister or international protection officer with the services of an interpreter.
(3) The Minister, for the purpose of ensuring that personal interviews are conducted under conditions that allow the applicant to present the grounds for his or her application in a comprehensive manner shall—
(a) ensure that the persons who conduct the personal interviews are sufficiently competent to take account of the personal or general circumstances surrounding the application, including the applicant’s cultural origin or vulnerability, insofar as it is possible to do so, and
(b) in the case of interviews to which subsection (2) applies, select interpreters who are able to ensure appropriate communication between the applicant and the person who conducts the interview.
(4) The requirement in subsection (3)(b) shall be regarded as complied with if interpretation is provided in a language that the applicant may reasonably be supposed to understand and in which he or she is able to communicate.
(5) A personal interview shall—
(a) take place without the presence of family members of the applicant unless the international protection officer considers it necessary for an appropriate examination to have other family members present, and
(b) take place under conditions that ensure appropriate confidentiality.
(6) The following may be present at a personal interview:
(a) the High Commissioner, whenever he or she so requests;
(b) the applicant’s legal representative or a person nominated by that legal representative, with the consent of the applicant.
(7) (a) Where an applicant has not attained the age of 18 years and is accompanied by an adult other than his or her parent, the interviewer, where he or she considers it appropriate to do so, shall require the adult to satisfy him or her that the adult is taking responsibility for the care and protection of the applicant concerned.
(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), the interviewer may make such inquiries of or about the applicant and the adult concerned as the interviewer considers necessary in order to satisfy himself or herself that the adult is taking the responsibility referred to in paragraph (a) and is authorised to do so.
(c) Where the interviewer (whether or not having made appropriate enquiries under paragraph (b)) is not satisfied either that the adult is taking responsibility for the applicant or that the adult is authorised to do so, he or she shall so inform the Child and Family Agency, and
(i) it shall be presumed that the applicant is a child in need of care and protection, and
(ii) the Child Care Acts 1991 to 2013, the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 and other enactments relating to the care and welfare of persons who have not attained the age of 18 years shall apply.
(8) A personal interview may be dispensed with where the international protection officer is of the opinion that—
(a) based on the available evidence, the applicant is a person in respect of whom a refugee declaration should be given,
(b) where the applicant has not attained the age of 18 years, he or she is of such an age and degree of maturity that an interview would not usefully advance the examination, or
(c) the applicant is unfit or unable to be interviewed owing to circumstances that are enduring and beyond his or her control.
(9) Subsection (8) shall not of itself operate to—
(a) prevent information relating to the application from being submitted to the international protection officer by or on behalf of the applicant,
(b) prevent the international protection officer from making a recommendation under section 39 in respect of the application, or
(c) adversely affect the recommendation referred to in paragraph (b).
(10) The applicant, the High Commissioner or any other person concerned may make representations in writing to the Minister in relation to any matter relevant to an examination of an application for international protection and the international protection officer shall take account of any such representations made before or during a personal interview.
(11) Subsection (10) shall not be construed as preventing the international protection officer from taking into account any representations made following a personal interview provided that such representations are made prior to the preparation of the report under section 39(1) in relation to the application.
(12) Following the conclusion of a personal interview, the interviewer shall prepare a report in writing of the interview.
(13) The report prepared under subsection (12) shall comprise two parts—
(a) one of which shall include anything that is, in the opinion of the international protection officer, relevant to the application, and
(b) the other of which shall include anything that would, in the opinion of the international protection officer, be relevant to the Minister’s decision under section 48 or 49, in the event that the section concerned were to apply to the applicant.
Section 36
Applicants to whom section 15(4) applies
36. Where section 15(4) applies to an applicant, the Minister shall, taking the best interests of the child as a primary consideration, ensure that—
(a) the person appointed by the Child and Family Agency under that provision—
(i) is given the opportunity to inform the applicant about the meaning and possible consequences of the personal interview and, where appropriate, how to prepare himself or herself for the personal interview, and
(ii) is allowed to be present at the personal interview and to ask questions or make comments, within the framework set by the person who conducts the interview,
(b) the personal interview is conducted—
(i) by a person who has the necessary knowledge of, and competence to take into account, the special needs of persons who have not attained the age of 18 years, and
(ii) where appropriate, having regard to the age and degree of maturity of the applicant and the role of the person referred to in paragraph (a), in a manner that enables the applicant to ask questions and make comments, within the framework set by the person who conducts the interview,
and
(c) the report of the personal interview together with the report under section 39 in respect of the applicant’s application is prepared by a person with the necessary knowledge of the special needs of persons who have not attained the age of 18 years.
Section 37
Withdrawal of application at first instance
37. (1) An applicant may, at any time before the preparation of the report under section 39 in relation to the application, withdraw his or her application by sending notice of withdrawal to the Minister.
(2) Where an application is withdrawn pursuant to subsection (1) —
(a) any examination of the application shall be terminated,
(b) sections 39 and 40 and Part 6 shall not apply in respect of the application,
(c) the Minister shall, under section 47(5), refuse both to give the person who made the application a refugee declaration and to give a subsidiary protection declaration, and
(d) the Minister, as soon as practicable, shall—
(i) send the person and his or her legal representative (if known) a notice confirming that the application is withdrawn, and
(ii) inform the High Commissioner of the fact that the application is withdrawn.
Section 38
Failure by applicant to cooperate
38. (1) Where an applicant does not attend for a personal interview on the date and at the time fixed under section 35(1) for the interview then, unless the applicant, not later than 3 working days from that date, furnishes the Minister with an explanation for the non-attendance which in the opinion of the Minister is reasonable in the circumstances, subsection (5) shall apply to the applicant.
(2) Where the Minister is of the opinion that an applicant—
(a) has failed, or is failing, in his or her duty under section 27 to co-operate, or
(b) is in breach of paragraph (a), (c) or (d) of section 16(3),
the Minister shall send to the applicant or his or her legal representative (if known) written notice of his or her opinion, and of the reasons for it.
(3) The Minister, in the notice under subsection (2), shall—
(a) invite the applicant to furnish, within 10 working days of the date of the notice, his or her observations on the Minister’s opinion referred to in that subsection,
(b) require the applicant to confirm in writing, within 10 working days of the date of the notice, that he or she wishes to continue with his or her application,
(c) remind the applicant of his or her duty under section 27 to co-operate and to comply with any requirements that have been or may be imposed on him or her under paragraph (a) or (d) of section 16(3), and
(d) include a statement of the effect of subsection (5) and of section 22(2)(c).
(4) Where—
(a) an applicant to whom a notice under subsection (2) is sent does not furnish the confirmation referred to in subsection (3)(b), or
(b) the Minister, having considered the observations (if any) made by the applicant referred to in subsection (3)(a) and the confirmation of the applicant referred to in subsection (3)(b), is of the opinion that the applicant has failed, or is failing, to comply with any of the obligations referred to in subsection (3)(c), subsection (5) shall apply to the applicant.
(5) (a) Where this subsection applies to an applicant, the applicant’s application shall be examined on the basis of the information referred to in paragraph (a) only.
(b) The information referred to in paragraph (a) is the information submitted by the applicant before this subsection applied to him or her.
(6) A notice under subsection (2) shall, when sent to the applicant, be in a language that he or she may reasonably be supposed to understand, where—
(a) he or she is not assisted or represented by a legal representative, and
(b) legal assistance is not available to him or her.
Section 39
Report of examination of application
39. (1) Following the conclusion of an examination of an application for international protection, the international protection officer shall cause a written report to be prepared in relation to the matters referred to in section 34.
(2) The report under subsection (1) shall—
(a) refer to the matters relevant to the application which are—
(i) raised by the applicant in his or her application, preliminary interview or personal interview or at any time before the conclusion of the examination, and
(ii) other matters the international protection officer considers appropriate,
(b) set out the recommendation of the international protection officer in relation to the application, and
(c) set out any of the findings referred to in subsection (4) in relation to the application.
(3) The recommendation of the international protection officer in relation to the applicationshall be based on the examination of the application and shall be that—
(a) the applicant should be given a refugee declaration,
(b) the applicant should not be given a refugee declaration and should be given a subsidiary protection declaration, or
(c) the applicant should be given neither a refugee declaration nor a subsidiary protection declaration.
(4) Where a report under this section includes a recommendation of the international protection officer referred to in subsection (3)(c), the report may also include one or more of the following findings:
(a) that the applicant, in submitting his or her application and in presenting the grounds of his or her application in his or her preliminary interview or personal interview or at any time before the conclusion of the examination, has raised only issues that are not relevant or are of minimal relevance to his or her eligibility for international protection;
(b) that the applicant has made inconsistent, contradictory, improbable or insufficient representations which make his or her claim to be eligibile for international protection clearly unconvincing;
(c) that the applicant has failed without reasonable cause to make his or her application as soon as reasonably practicable having had opportunity to do so;
(d) that the applicant, for a reason referred to in section 32, is not in need of international protection;
(e) that the applicant’s country of origin is a safe country of origin.
(5) Where a recommendation referred to in subsection (2)(b) cannot be made within 6 months of the date of application, the Minister shall, upon request from the applicant, provide the applicant with information on the estimated time within which a recommendation may be made.
(6) The provision under subsection (5) by the Minister of an estimated time within which a recommendation may be made shall not of itself oblige the international protection officer to make a recommendation within that time.
(7) A report under this section shall, as soon as practicable after it is prepared, be furnished to the Minister.
Section 40
Notification of recommendation in relation to application at first instance
40. (1) Where an international protection officer has prepared a report under section 39, or caused such a report to be prepared, the Minister shall notify, in writing, the applicant concerned, the applicant’s legal representative (if known) and, whenever so requested by him or her, the High Commissioner, of the officer’s recommendation referred to in section 39(2)(b).
(2) A notification under subsection (1) and, where applicable, a statement under subsection (4)(c) or subsection (5)(c) shall, when sent to an applicant, be in a language that he or she may reasonably be supposed to understand, where—
(a) he or she is not assisted or represented by a legal representative, and
(b) legal assistance is not available to him or her.
(3) Where the international protection officer’s recommendation is that referred to in section 39(3)(a), the notification under subsection (1) need only consist of that fact.
(4) Where the international protection officer’s recommendation is that referred to in section 39(3)(b), the notification under subsection (1) shall be accompanied by—
(a) a statement of the reasons for the recommendation that the applicant not be given a refugee declaration,
(b) a copy of the report under section 39, and
(c) a statement of the entitlement of the applicant to appeal to the Tribunal against the recommendation, and of the procedures specified in Part 6.
(5) Where the international protection officer’s recommendation is that referred to in section 39(3)(c), the notification under subsection (1) shall be accompanied by—
(a) a statement of the reasons for the recommendation,
(b) a copy of the report under section 39, and
(c) a statement of the entitlement of the applicant to appeal to the Tribunal against the recommendation, and of the procedures specified in Part 6.
(6) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring the disclosure of any information that has been supplied to the Minister, an international protection officer, a Department of State or other branch or office of the public service by or on behalf of the government of another state subject to an undertaking (express or implied) that the information would be kept confidential, other than in accordance with the undertaking, or with the consent of the other state.