Ms Emily O'Reilly:

That is right, and this was highly unusual because normally an appeals officer's decision is accepted. If it has been challenged it would have to be through the courts, therefore, this was very unusual. In the end we managed to sort that for the woman but by this stage so much time had moved on, her daughter had been placed in voluntary foster care and the entire family split apart.

There is an increasing public consciousness about direct provision, and particularly as it relates to children, because at our relative stages in life four or five years is not a big deal but for a child it is an entire part of childhood or adolescence and there are children who spend between three and seven years in direct provision. I may have quoted here previously Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness who talked about how children can grow up in those units without ever once experiencing a mother or father cooking a meal for them. I believe it was Michael McDowell, when the direct provision system was brought in, who said that nobody would stay there for longer than six months and that is not the case. If the Government decides on a particular policy, so be it. It can be accountable for that policy to the Oireachtas or to the electorate but we all have a duty, as human beings, to see that when that policy goes wrong or is ineffectively operating that children particularly do not suffer.

I thank the Deputy for his comments on the lost at sea scheme. One of my good friends in Howth is a fisherman formerly from Castletownbere and I had many conversations with him during that time. There was a lot of sympathy for the family within the fishing community which, even though it stretches around the coast, is quite close-knit.

I welcome the Chairman's comments on the Whip system. I am aware of the difficulties. We witnessed it during the debate on the abortion legislation and all of that and as I noted the other day, the Whip system can sometimes be a protection for members also because it protects them from undue pressure. At the same time I have always had a strong sense in this committee that there is a feeling that if it is going to work it has to work together. It does not have executive power as such. It will be making recommendations and ultimately the Government will decide on certain things, therefore, it has that freedom to make recommendations in a unified way, assuming all the members agree, but if at all possible it should not be split on party political lines.