Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Looking back to 1995 and 1996, the level of inward migration to this country was 100 to 150 people per annum, and in the period following that, there was a huge increase in the number of economic migrants and refugees to this country seeking asylum due to our economic boom. I recall at the time that there was a strong squeeze put on the then Government to provide services and there were queues in Dublin to access services. What progress has been made since the late 1990s or in the last decade to provide better facilities in terms of accommodation and resources to deal with asylum seekers? We have a history in Ireland of our people emigrating all over the world, but when there was a sea-change in the mid-1990s of people migrating here, we were not prepared for it and we found it difficult to deal with and to accept. Can Dr. Thornton elaborate briefly on the progress that has been made? Obviously, significant progress has been made but there is still a long way to go.