PILA supports legal education sessions on immigration for IOM
As a means of assisting migrants to effectively manage their migration journeys the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Ireland in collaboration with the Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA), a project of FLAC, launched legal education sessions, on the 6th July 2021.
The legal sessions which are mainly intended for vulnerable migrants, including but not limited to international protection applicants and undocumented migrants, will serve the main purpose of providing the wider migrant community with information on the supports available to them through IOM Ireland, legal practitioners, and Ireland as a whole.
The most recent second legal session held on the 19th of August was aimed at explaining legal immigration processes, and at the same time provide migrants with information on the supports available to them through IOM Ireland should they face challenges in the course of their migration journey. The session which lasted for approximately 1.5 hours was delivered in two parts and in the evening time so as to be able to accommodate everyone. The first part of the session on The Dublin III Regulation and the Notice to Deport (Section 3 Letter) was delivered by Dr. Aoife McMahon, a Barrister-at-Law who also specializes in the area of immigration, refugee, and asylum law. Dr. McMahon spoke in-depth about the Dublin III Regulation and its effects. She also spoke about the Section 3 Letter, and the need to seek timely legal advice. The second part of the session on the support available to migrants through IOM was delivered by Kuda Mushaya – Outreach Assistant at IOM Ireland. In this session, among others, Kuda mainly spoke about their main support program, Assisted Voluntary Return and Re-integration (AVVR), which is available to migrants should they find Ireland no longer a viable destination. She also explained in-depth about the AVRR eligibility criteria. The session which was recorded is now available on YouTube and can be accessed here. As IOM Ireland understands it, professionals working closely and directly with international protection applicants, undocumented migrants, including those identified as vulnerable, have found the available recording quite useful in the line of their work.
The legal education sessions are ongoing, and IOM Ireland would like to express its gratitude to PILA for making all this possible and also all legal firms and advisors such as A & L Goodbody that have assisted in facilitating the legal session so far.