Bogus Asylum Seekers Bleeding The Tax Payer Dry.

Government paid more than €3 million in fees for refugee tribunal

Image: steakpinball via Creative Commons

THE GOVERNMENT PAID solicitors and barristers more than €3 million in 2009 and 2010 for working on appeal hearings for decisions to refuse refugee status.
The figures, reported in today’s Irish Times, show that one barrister, Michelle O’Gorman earned around €346,400 while another, Joseph Barnes, earned nothing.
In total, amounts were paid to 35 tribunal members for the hearings which were set up in 2000 to hear appeals of asylum seekers who had their applications for protection rejected.
The Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner issued 5,892 decisions in 2009 and 2010. It granted 345 appeals and rejected 5,547 appeals in 2009 and 2010. http://www.thejournal.ie/government-paid-more-than-e3-million-in-fees-for-refugee-tribunal-114800-May2011/?utm_source=shortlink