Results 1-20 of 24 for "direct provision" segment:6745440

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Kathleen Funchion: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue which is of huge concern to many of us here. With good reason, direct provision can be called the Magdalen laundries of our time. I believe it will be the subject of inquiry in years to come. Direct provision centres are often referred to as holding camps and sites of deportability. The Free Legal Advice Centres states that these privately...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Eugene Murphy: Direct provision is not fit for purpose and Fianna Fáil believes independent oversight is needed. People have been in direct provision for far too long. I acknowledge the figures are dropping, but it is hard to imagine that almost 600 people have been in direct provision for more than five years. It is unthinkable that in this country people could be boxed up for so long. Let us...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Catherine Connolly: ...work. I cannot imagine what would stop any Government from giving that right. Second, one recommendation was that after a period of time, I believe it was five years, nobody should be kept in direct provision without having their status legalised. Those are two basic requirements and here we are a year later, after a new election and new promises, still talking about direct...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Bríd Smith: I welcome those who are advocating for an end to direct provision and those who are in direct provision and who are present in the Gallery. I also welcome the debate. We have tabled a motion to end direct provision on the Dáil agenda and it has been signed by 37 Members to date. Unfortunately, we do not have a great deal of Private Member's time in which to take the motion but I am...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...he has done. I am in no doubt that the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, in everything he is doing in this area, is incredibly well intentioned and is working hard to improve the lot of those in direct provision. That, essentially, is what we all are aiming and hoping for. I also acknowledge that while the Minister of State cannot respond to what we are saying, I appreciate that he...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Ruth Coppinger: ...undocumented Irish in the US. However, we have two scenarios in this country of undocumented people who have no status and who are not getting any assistance and the scandal of people being kept in direct provision. Labour Party Members have not bothered their barney coming to the House for the debate. During the previous Dáil, we were led to believe by the former junior Minister,...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Fiona O'Loughlin: ...from joining the workforce. Aissa Sow, who lived in the centre, fled from Guinea without her family in 2011. Recently she was publicly interviewed. Her description of feeling like a prisoner in direct provision is a reminder of just how hard is the process. Her story ended happily as she was granted asylum and has now applied for her mother to join her. She is lucky. There is no...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Thomas Pringle: I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the statements on direct provision this morning. I worked with asylum seekers in Donegal town from 1999 to 2012 when the hostel there closed. I have seen at first hand the impact the direct provision system had on people in Donegal town. It was a totally male hostel. One could see the lack of motivation, the impact on people's mental health and...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Joan Collins: ...as one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the State. Generations in ten and 20 years will be looking for redress for the treatment they received in this State since 16 years ago. The direct provision system introduced more than 16 years ago was supposed to provide temporary accommodation for up to six months while a decision was made to accept or reject an asylum application....

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: ...imply criticism of the outrageous policies of US President Donald Trump vis-à-visimmigrants and asylum seekers in the United States and continue to stand over a degrading, inhumane, cruel system of direct provision, which is guilty of child neglect and abuse if nothing else. It is guilty of many other things too. The treatment of children living for years in this system of direct...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Róisín Shortall: ...this House acknowledges, and they did so in their election manifestos, that the current system is not working and is not acceptable. What is required urgently is Government action, not more words. Direct provision was only ever intended to be a short-term response but it has since become a national disgrace. There is no disagreement with that assessment. If the current system cannot...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Jan O'Sullivan: ..., work and commitment of the Minister of State as regards the implementation of the McMahon report but it needs to be implemented in full and acted upon. This is particularly so in terms of people who have been in direct provision for a long time. There are terrible stories of people who, having been there for years upon years, despair of ever getting their lives back. We need to...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: ...State, housing approximately 4,500 people. Like Frankenstein’s monster, the system has become much more than intended and is now quite grotesque, housing people for many years longer than intended and in unacceptable conditions. As Sinn Féin spokesperson on children I will speak on direct provision from a child protection and children’s rights perspective. It was...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Anne Rabbitte: ...and I met was at NUI Galway last year at the launch of the inclusive centenaries scholarships. It was a great day of celebration when scholarships were announced for young asylum seekers living in direct provision. NUI Galway is providing scholarships for people who have done incredibly well in education, giving them the opportunity to go forward. The young people told powerful stories,...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Eoin Ó Broin: I thank People Before Profit for putting this matter on the agenda today. I will reflect on my experience as a Deputy in Clondalkin. Clondalkin Towers, one of the largest direct provision centres, is in the constituency. Like many politicians, we work very closely with the residents at that location. Over the five or six years that I have been a public representative in the area, what has...

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Róisín Shortall: I do not understand or know why we are here making statements on direct provision. What is this about? The Minister of State scheduled this time slot for statements.

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Róisín Shortall: -----but it is a Government statement. The Government opened with a statement on direct provision and we do not know if it is saying anything or not.

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Róisín Shortall: It appears there is nothing new being said. There are no decisions being made in relation to the future of direct provision.

Direct Provision: Statements (30 Mar 2017)

Mattie McGrath: I am delighted to speak on this very important issue, which will haunt us in the future. I welcome the visitors in the Gallery. The system of direct provision for asylum seekers is almost 17 years old and from the beginning it has been a cause of significant controversy and debate. Among the issues raised most recently are the duration of the stay in direct provision, the impact of this...