Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will make a number of points before we bring the first session to a close. There was very understandably significant emphasis on children and the impact on their lives. I marked off some of the points. It is estimated there are 2,000 to 6,000 children of undocumented migrants in Ireland. That is a significant number. I will bunch a number of short questions together. What was the methodology of the calculation? There is a significant gap between 2,000 and 6,000. Is there a more exact way of determining how many children we are talking about? Priya talks about the big secret. It is terribly weighty stuff for any child to have to bear. Confiding with peers is part of growing up and to have a big secret is a tremendous weight on any child. Most, perhaps all, of us can empathise with this because we have family or friends who are undocumented in the United States and for whom, after the most recent election, there is increased concern and uncertainty. We can understand exactly what the witnesses are imparting to us. Priya talked about her son and said he worries about his position. We do not want young people to worry in this way because there is already such a weight on them in terms of all the challenges of third level education, as in this case, and everything else besides. I have not known the isolation associated with living undocumented but I have friends who have and are living it. I know the huge hurt this causes in their personal lives as a result of the disconnect with family, family events and the tragedy of losing a family member and not being able to be a part of that collective grieving. All of these things are well documented - no pun intended. I expect that our committee will reflect, as the previous committee has done, positively on the recommendations the witnesses have offered.

I invite, as a closing comment, any reflection specifically on children and how we might get a sharper picture of the numbers we are talking about.