Ms Edel McGinley:

We recently had a case in which a woman's house was broken into and the family's savings were taken. They did not have a bank account so all of their savings were there. It was €900, which is a huge amount of money. They have a small child back home. They could not report this theft to the Garda for fear of detection and deportation. It is a huge issue. We come across many people who are in situations of domestic violence, but this fear exists. We come across people who are homeless. There is a vulnerability associated with being undocumented when it comes to earning money. People can be exploited by their employers. They are afraid to assert their rights in the employment relationship. There are also more serious situations relating to violence or theft.