The Government has been criticised for failing to deliver on its stated aim of creating a fair and transparent immigration system.
But the Immigration Council of Ireland says there is still time to amend the proposed immigration and asylum law.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party has expressed concern that the bill appears to empower the Minister to regulate inflows instead of framing immigrants' rights in law.
Earlier Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan said the new Immigration, Residents and Protection Bill must contain 'very robust powers' to remove immigrants who are in the country illegally.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's News At One, Minister Lenihan said this has to happen in order to generate public confidence in the migration system.
The Government is also proposing to introduce a bond system to allow grandparents of immigrants visit their immediate family in Ireland.
The draft migration law would also penalise lawyers who make vexatious or frivolous applications to the courts on behalf of would-be immigrants.
Landmark legislation on migration - Lenihan
A spokeswoman for the ICI claimed the provision regarding lawyers is unconstitutional because it applies only to would-be immigrants and not to the State.
The measures are included in what the Mr Lenihan has called landmark legislation on migration into the State.
The minister says he plans to combine all the current procedures into a single application to speed up the process.
He said that currently people could make three separate applications and then still go to the courts for judicial review.
Mr Lenihan said it is because of this existing system that we still have a very substantial number of people seeking refugee status in Ireland while in residential accommodation in the State.
Commenting on the proposed new single procedeure for asylum seekers, the Irish Refugee Council said speed should not be at the expense of either fairness or the current level of safeguards.
Minister Lenihan said the legislation sets out the pathways to lawful residence very clearly so there should not be any one with an ambiguous status.
He said the legislation also includes very strong procedures for the removal of those who are not lawfully resident.
Currently if people have been here for a long time, it becomes very difficult to remove them from the State.
Minister Lenihan says the bill also sets out the process for those people who arrive lawfully to Ireland and who wish to obtain long-term residency - this includes various criteria including language competence, integration, and work status.
Minister Lenihan said he can assure people that there will be fully independent protection review tribunal, but said its very important that applications are disposed of quickly.
The commitment to introduce an independent appeals mechanism on a non-statutory footing has been given a cautious welcome by the ICI.
Its chief executive Denise Charlton said that Minister Micheál Martin had promised two years ago that a similar issue - family reunification - would be dealt with under a separate initiative but that it had yet to materialise.
Mr Lenihan said he recognised that there are genuine refugees and said their application will be considered properly and their rights will be respected.
He said a protracted and delayed application procedure can be a pull factor in encouraging large numbers of people to come here.
The bill revises last year's draft legislation on immigration and asylum, published by former Justice Minister Michael McDowell.
