The European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 426 of 2013) were recently amended by the European Union (Subsidiary Protection)(Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 137 of 2015).

The 2015 Regulations give legal effect to the following arrangements which are already in operation by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC)

The consequences of the new regulations are as follows:

· Any person who makes a new application for refugee status may also make an application for subsidiary protection in the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC);

· Any person who currently has an application for refugee status pending may also make an application for subsidiary protection in ORAC.

The effect of these regulations now means that both asylum applications and subsidiary protection applications can be submitted at the same time by a new applicant.

Any individual with an existing asylum application which has not been decided upon, can also now make a subsidiary protection application at this stage. ORAC are the body responsible for processing these applications.

Sinnott Solicitors greatly welcome the introduction of these new regulations and hope that we will now see applications being processed expeditiously in accordance with fair procedures and natural justice.

We have many clients whose have resided in a state of limbo for many years in Direct Provision accomodation waiting for their applications to be processed and the new regulations are a positive move towards preventing this from happening to new Applicants in the state.

If you have suffered psychological injury whilst in the Irish State’s Direct Provision system, you may be entitled to compensation. Please complete the form below. All submissions will be held in the strictest confidence.