Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá cuid mhaith Seanadóirí anseo ag caint faoin chúpla mí deacair a bhí againn. A number of Senators have bemoaned the difficult number of months we have had, but I contend that this pales to insignificance compared with the conditions that many people who find themselves in direct provision have gone through. I recommend all Senators read Carl O'Brien's articles in The Irish Times. He raises issues that have been raised many times in the House and also echoes the sentiments of the Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, and Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness. I also recommend people check out the Irish Refugee Council's website and read a number of the reports it has published. Even if one does not want to argue about the conditions and the human rights issues, one could look at it from a purely economic perspective. In the past month Senator Martin Conway and I were on a delegation that went to see the operation of the Portuguese system. Portugal is also a troika country in a bailout system. It has signed up to the EU reception conditions directive and provides a process which is much more humane and takes on board people's human rights and the need for integration. More importantly for the mandarins in the Department of Finance, it costs much less. The Portuguese refugee council, which deals with most of the people seeking refugee status, works on a budget of approximately €1 million per year. We spend €73 million on the direct provision system, €63 million of which goes to the companies running the direct provision system. This system is a gravy train for people and companies running a very inhumane system. The State has abdicated its responsibility in this case and we need a debate as soon as possible on what has been brought to light. I call for this debate to happen on Thursday. Let us ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to come to the House on Thursday and debate this as a very urgent issue.