Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No, but I welcome Ms Magennis's comments and clarity. In particular, I welcome her final point. I know people whose children were born in this country and are now in secondary school yet whose cases have still not been decided. Clearly, they should be allowed to stay. I agree with Ms Magennis. It is a failure on our part not to deal with this situation with total clarity. There is ambiguity. If the UN has a legitimate, proper and transparent process, by signing up to it we would be providing clarity to public opinion on the question of, for example, refugees who may have been trafficked into Ireland and the major issues related to that.

The enrichment of society provided by the immigrant community in my area has been considerable. That multiculturalism and so on make us a real international country rather than the monochrome one we were for many years, although I say that in the broadest sense. We are a much richer country in every respect now. Our schools, particularly primary schools, are sources of fantastic learning for everyone, as all cultures and religions are represented. As Ms Magennis stated, we need clarity in policy, because this would lead to greater public acceptance of what is happening.