The Presbyterian Church, today, Tuesday 24 February, launched a policy document on Asylum Seekers and Refugees to an audience of church representatives, members of ethnic minority groups and local politicians.
Officially launching the 16 page policy which has the approval of the General Assembly, Moderator Dr Ivan McKay said, "Rarely a day, and it would seem never a week, goes by without headlines and articles on asylum seekers and refugees. And it is important that we make our contribution as a Church in this key area.
"The influx of immigrants of one sort or another is making a huge and positive impact on the character of church life in this island, with some 30,000 members in new black majority churches, especially in the Republic. Similarly, recent immigrants now form a significant proportion of the membership of Presbyterian and Methodist congregations, in some cases up to 50%."
Also speaking at the launch, Rev Dr Gordon Gray, convener of the Presbyterian Church Race Relations Committee who wrote the report highlighted the challenge to the Church.
"The recent influx of asylum seekers and refugees to Ireland provides the Irish churches with new challenges and as we state in our policy , 'As the world increasingly becomes a global village so the stranger who is different becomes increasingly our neighbour with whom we must co-exist and interact harmoniously. The contemporary tide of displaced men, women and children needs to be addressed at its multifarious roots and by the community of nations in our increasingly inter-connected world.'
Turing his attention to asylum seekers Dr Gray added, "The right to seek asylum belongs to every citizen of the world. Asylum seeking is a right. It is not a concession.
"An asylum seeker is a person who has applied for refugee status in a country other than their own. As a church we consider that many asylum seekers are highly educated and skilled and can make an invaluable contribution to business life."
However while taking a stand against illegal immigration the church argues that a 'saving clause' should make allowance for the fact that asylum seekers are not required to have the same documentation as other categories of people entering Ireland.
The status of children also comes under the spotlight of the policy. "In the Republic of Ireland the Children's Rights Alliance had made a pre budget submission to the Irish government in which it called for an increase in weekly payments made to asylum seekers. The Church supports this increase but maintains that such weekly payments continue to be made to qualified recipients through the Department of Social and Family Affairs rather than be transferred to the Department of Justice."
With regard to the UK the Church noted that asylum seekers were expected to live on 70% of the basic levels of income support and that those staying with relatives rather than in a centre may be denied any support.
The policy also expressed reservation about where asylum seekers are detained and particularly in Northern Ireland where Meghaberry Prision is used for this task. "This situation is generally recognised as unsatisfactory," says the policy. "The Presbyterian Church supports bodies such as the Law Centre (NI) in urging that provision similar to Bail Hostels be made, enabling contact to be maintained with newly-arrived asylum-seekers, and services to be provided such as legal advice, welfare, translation services and assistance with form-filling.
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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