Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the report. They have given us an understanding of the fear, alienation, loneliness and the experience of being in a place where one cannot settle and call home.

I have a number of observations. The diagram presented by the witnesses shows that the position of undocumented migrants in Ireland is the very same as in the US. We are great at lobbying and trying to regularise those in the US. Is there lobbying from the 80% of people from the top three areas - the Philippines, Mauritius and China - for regularisation as powerfully as our lobbying in the States is?

Is there a further explanation for how one falls into irregularity? Sara Jane's father was here on a study visa. I am just a bit confused. How, after seven years, did he become undocumented? He was working and paying taxes. There is some status there. They will take the money but will they do anything else? Could the witnesses provide further explanation of that?

How significant is restricted access to support services such as mental health services or third level education to children? I imagine once they reach 16, they need to become documented. One would imagine that at 16, they are still in full-time education and trying to access third level education. How does it affect access to health services?

The MRCI has been established for about 15 years. The witnesses talked briefly about it. How long ago did the issue of a significant number of undocumented children come onto the radar of the MRCI and encourage them to do something about it? The numbers within Ireland are 26,000. How does that compare to our neighbours? Europe is quite different. We are talking about undocumented as opposed to refugees or asylum seekers. Will the witnesses give us an idea of how Ireland compares?