Provided by the author(s) and NUI Galway in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite the published version when available. Advocating and Setting Agendas: An Exploratory Study of NGO Advocacy surrounding the Reception Conditions of Title Asylum Seeking Children and Families in Ireland and its Influence on Agenda Setting Author(s) Kinlen, Louise Publication 2013-03-20 Date Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/3704 Downloaded 2023-03-14T00:10:59Z Some rights reserved. For more information, please see the item record link above. Advocating and Setting Agendas: An Exploratory Study of NGO Advocacy surrounding the Reception Conditions of Asylum Seeking Children and Families in Ireland and its Influence on Agenda Setting A thesis submitted for the Degree of PhD. to the National University of Ireland, Galway Louise Kinlen Professor Chris Curtin Supervisor School of Political Science and Sociology, National University of Ireland, Galway March 2013 i Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... iv  List of Figures .................................................................................................................... iv  List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................................... v  Abstract .............................................................................................................................. vi  Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... vii  Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................. 1  1.1  Overview and context ........................................................................................ 1  1.2  Rationale and research question ........................................................................ 6  1.3  Parameters and location of the study ............................................................... 10  1.4  Theoretical underpinnings ............................................................................... 12  1.5  Approach to the research ................................................................................. 15  1.6  Limitations and challenges of the study .......................................................... 16  1.7  Structure of the thesis ...................................................................................... 17  Chapter Two: Making Policy, Setting Agendas and Advocating for Change ............ 19  2.1  Introduction ..................................................................................................... 19  2.2  Understanding and analysis of influencing the public policy process............. 21  2.3  Policy network approaches .............................................................................. 31  2.4  Public advocacy and interaction with public policy ....................................... 34  2.5  Specialist advocacy for children ...................................................................... 52  2.6  Specialist advocacy for refugees and asylum seekers ..................................... 53  2.7  Chapter conclusions ......................................................................................... 61  Chapter Three: Policy-making, Asylum and Reception Conditions - The Irish Context .............................................................................................................................. 63  3.1  Introduction ..................................................................................................... 63  3.2  Influencing social policy – the Irish context ................................................... 64  3.3  Immigration and asylum in Ireland ................................................................. 69  3.4  Children, Direct Provision and human rights .................................................. 78  3.5  Specific human rights concerns ....................................................................... 84  3.6  EU asylum policy ............................................................................................ 92  3.7  Chapter conclusions ......................................................................................... 95  Chapter Four: Research Design and Methodology ...................................................... 98  4.1  Introduction ..................................................................................................... 98  4.2  Research design and rationale ......................................................................... 98  4.3  Outline of research process............................................................................ 109  4.4  Sampling ........................................................................................................ 124  ii 4.5  Challenges and ethical considerations ........................................................... 127  4.6  Data analysis .................................................................................................. 128  4.7  Chapter conclusions ....................................................................................... 131  Chapter Five: NGO Advocacy Strategies .................................................................... 133  5.1  Introduction ................................................................................................... 133  5.2  How advocates raise concerns and strategies they use .................................. 134  5.3  Outsider strategies and influencing public opinion ....................................... 150  5.4  Funding environment and the role of philanthropy ....................................... 155  5.5  Chapter conclusions ....................................................................................... 156  Chapter Six: NGOs Adaptation of Strategies and Attempts at Agenda Setting ...... 158  6.1  Introduction ................................................................................................... 158  6.2  How have advocates adapted their strategies over time? .............................. 159  6.3  Key concerns and their articulation ............................................................... 172  6.4  The proposed IRP Bill ................................................................................... 182  6.5  Chapter conclusions ....................................................................................... 187  Chapter Seven: The State Response and the Intersection of Advocacy and Agenda Setting.............................................................................................................................. 190  7.1  Introduction ................................................................................................... 190  7.2  Interagency Groups: opening and closing of windows of opportunity ......... 193  7.3  Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children .................................... 198  7.4  Policy makers perceptions of policy formulation and agenda setting ........... 210  7.5  Policy Makers’ perspectives of NGO advocacy and its influence ................ 220  7.6  Chapter Conclusions ..................................................................................... 231  Chapter Eight: Advocacy and Influencing the Public Agenda - Discussion and Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 234  8.1  Introduction ................................................................................................... 234  8.2  Adaptation of agenda setting in current study ............................................... 237  8.3  Multiple streams approach to placing concerns on public agenda ................ 244  8.4  Understanding the particular challenges of pro-asylum advocacy ................ 253  8.5  Conclusions ................................................................................................... 258  8.6  Implications for practice ................................................................................ 261  8.7  Concluding remarks ....................................................................................... 264  Appendices ...................................................................................................................... 266  Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 297  iii List of Tables Table 4.3.1  Overview of research process .................................................................... 110  Table 4.4.1  Summary of interview participants ............................................................ 124  Table 5.3.2  Outsider strategies and their purposes ....................................................... 152  List of Figures Figure 2.2.4  Adaptation of model to current study ....................................................... 28  Figure 2.4.4  Capacities for advocacy combine to create ‘windows’ ............................ 43  Figure 1.4.7  Key concepts in linking advocacy and agenda setting ............................. 51  Figure 3.3.2  Number of applications received at ORAC from 1991 to 2011 ............... 71  Figure 4.2.1  Linking elements of research strategy ...................................................... 99  Figure 4.2.3  Theoretical perspectives and concepts ................................................... 103  Figure 4.2.5  Linking of key concepts and research questions .................................... 108  Figure 5.2.3.1    NGO perspectives on effective advocacy strategies .............................. 137  Figure 5.2.3.2    Visual representation of advocacy strategies from Nvivo ..................... 139  Figure 8.2.1  Linking of theoretical concepts used in the research ............................. 238  Figure 8.2.2  Multiple streams framework linking of advocacy and agenda setting ... 243  iv List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ACF Advocacy Coalition Framework CERD Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination DCYA Department of Children and Youth Affairs DP Direct Provision (system of accommodation for asylum seekers) ECHR European Convention on Human Rights ECtHR European Court of Human Rights ECRE European Council on Refugees and Exiles FLAC Free Legal Advice Centres HSE Health Services Executive ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights IRC Irish Refugee Council IRP Bill Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill NGO Non-Governmental Organisation ORAC Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner PQ Parliamentary Question RIA Reception and Integration Agency TD Teachta Dála, Irish word for member of parliament UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UPR Universal Periodic Review v Abstract Asylum seekers arriving in Ireland are accommodated under a system known as Direct Provision and Dispersal. Under this policy families may spend seven years or more in communal hostel accommodation, with meals provided and small weekly allowances. Asylum seekers are not permitted to work and personal autonomy is limited. Concerns have been raised since its inception in 2000 by NGOs, academics, health professionals and the international community. These have included human rights and humanitarian issues such as overcrowding, malnutrition, mental and physical health, poverty, social exclusion, lack of play and study space, child protection and parenting challenges. NGOs have been to the fore in advocating for policy change in this area, with some lobbying and campaigning for change for over a decade. Several national and regional NGOs have formed coalitions and are attempting to influence policy makers, with a stronger focus now placed on elected politicians as opposed to civil servants. This thesis seeks to explore such advocacy, focusing on how it is received at state level and how the NGOs attempt to put their concerns on the public policy agenda. A constructionist research design was used in addressing this central research question, incorporating a case study approach, giving voice to the various actors in the process. In addition to some initial surveying of NGOs, in-depth interviews were undertaken with NGO advocates, senior civil servants, politicians, funders and observers. The research was influenced by a theoretical framework, based around the concept of agenda setting (Kingdon 1995), and informed by the literature on advocacy and theories on the challenges of pro-asylum advocacy. The research highlighted that whilst some windows of opportunity have opened for advocates to place their concerns on the public agenda, they have not stayed open for long and their attempts at overall policy reform have not been very successful. Challenges have included a divergence of worldviews between advocates and some state actors who may be opposed to or indifferent to their concerns and view the role of the State vis-à-vis asylum seekers very differently. The research also proposes a revised framework (based on the multiple streams model of agenda setting) for understanding the intersection between advocacy and agenda setting in the policy making process. vi Acknowledgements This thesis would never have been completed without the encouragement, support and assistance of so many individuals. I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Chris Curtin for his support, focus and ability to see the bigger picture. I would also like to thank the members of the Graduate Review Committee Dr. Ciara Smyth and Dr. Celia Keenaghan for their expert advice and input. Special thanks are also due to everyone in the Child and Family Research Centre where I have been based. Dr. John Canavan and Professor Pat Dolan have been very supportive throughout. I would like to thank everyone for the peer support, especially in the PhD corner. A big thank you also to Leanne and Jessica for their encouragement and listening ears. Liam provided great assistance, particularly in the beginning in the search for ‘policy models’ and introduced me to the work of Kingdon. I need to say a special word to all those who have assisted with proof-reading of chapters: My parents, Philip, Leanne, Jessica and Benjamin. I would also like to thank Rosie Dunne, research librarian for all the assistance with EndNote. This study would not have been possible without all the individuals and organisations that participated so willingly in the research. They are the ones that really brought the study to light. Their insights and candid accounts were a huge assistance, as well as all the additional reading material and support they provided. On a personal level I received help and encouragement from so many people. Special friends who have helped me through this process include Aileen, Elaine, Geraldine, Helen and Karen. My family have kept me grounded and encouraged me along the way. A very special thank you is due to Lorraine who has kept everyone happy at home. I most especially want to say thank Benjamin, Abigail, Antoine and Samuel for their love, kindness and patience, whilst I was busy writing my ‘big book’. vii Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Overview and context 1.1.1 Overview Migration patterns in Ireland underwent significant changes during the 1990s when there was a large increase in the number of people migrating to Ireland. For the first time in recent history, inward migration exceeded outward migration, leading to a shift from a country defined as nation of emigration to one of immigration. Ireland was placed on the international map and began to open up. At the same time, the number of people seeking asylum in Ireland began to increase. Whilst sensationalist media headlines during the late 1990s spoke in terms of ‘hordes’ and an ‘influx’ or ‘deluge’ of asylum seekers arriving, throughout the 1990s, they still represented a small and declining percentage of total migrants to Ireland (Fanning and Mutwarasibo, 2007). Prior to the 1990s, the numbers of people arriving in Ireland to seek asylum was very low, with most of the refugee arrivals coming through organised refugee programmes. Unlike other countries, which took in large numbers of refugees following World War II, Ireland accepted very few refugees at this time. It acceded to the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees in 1956 and in the same year accepted 539 Hungarian refugees who had fled following the failed uprising. This was followed by a small groups of Chilean refugees in 1973, 212 Vietnamese refugees in 1979 and 455 Bosnian programme refugees from 1992-1998. For most of these refugees, the supports they received were very minimal, with little English language and other educational or integration supports (Prutz Phiri, 2003). Ireland in the past did not have an established tradition of being a receiving country for asylum seekers or refugees in comparison with other European countries. This was partly due to geographic, political and economic isolation and the fact that Ireland was a small island and not traditionally an access point for people fleeing conflict. In the 1990s Ireland began to experience a new phenomenon of larger numbers of people arriving spontaneously in the country to seek asylum, leading to a peak in 2003 and declining ever since. In 1992, only 39 people arrived spontaneously to seek asylum in Ireland, which then rose dramatically and peaked at over 11,000 applicants in 2002. Since 1