Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a couple of brief points. First, I note the Minister of State’s comments on undocumented minors that we expect them to adhere to their original visa conditions but is there not a double standard given the approach we take to the Americans? We go cap in hand and expect the undocumented Irish in America to have their status legitimised but we do not adopt the same position with people of various nationalities who end up in Ireland. As Deputy Wallace said, most of them are not getting any benefits from the system and they are surviving on the charity or support of friends they have made along the way or primarily through working and providing a pool of cheap labour. If we were to legitimise their status, there would be a knock-on benefit in that they would contribute in terms of tax and other elements of the system. The benefit would be positive as more than 80% of such people are working here. It is not a case that if we become liberal on the issue, people would come here from all over the place.

While there must be a process, the reality is that it has been very difficult for people who perhaps have been trying to bring in a family member or for those who have developed a relationship in this country and want the opportunity to stay to further a personal relationship with a partner. It has been most difficult for people to get their status legitimised. We were not members of the previous justice committee but the Minister of State was and he probably agrees with the points we are making. The committee recommended that certain measures would be put in place to deal with the categories the Minister of State has outlined, namely, the people who are here, who are integrated. They are a reality but we just keep them hidden and do not accept them. We will return to the issue because we cannot have it both ways and argue one thing in Ireland and one thing in America. That is a very important issue the committee will pursue.

We have not spoken about direct provision but the Minister of State responded to a parliamentary question I tabled about the number of children in direct provision. I asked the question given that we are coming up to Christmas and the figures are quite shocking. More than 1,100 children are living in direct provision. A total of 425 of them are aged under five and 514 are aged under 12. The situation is very difficult and there is a need to address it and to integrate people properly into society. Parents who have been in direct provision for a long time make the point that while it is hard when the children are going to school, at least they are going to school and there is something for them to do, but when they leave school and cannot go to college they are stuck there and frustrated. Their talents are not being recognised. That is a critically important problem that needs to be addressed.

I have a couple of other very brief points to make. There is a view that while we have had a lot of talk about going way beyond what has been asked of us, we have not delivered on the refugee targets. The resettlement scheme from Lebanon is taking a long time to achieve. We have finally got some people coming here but that is a long established programme. I am keen to hear about the relocation programme of 4,000 people. Are the 630 people who have arrived under the relocation programme as distinct from the resettlement programme in Lebanon?

I welcome the fact that we are bringing in a chartered plane but it has been a long time coming. In reality, we are behind our targets of getting people on the ground. While we are talking about it, in essence, the asylum process in this country has shut down. We are refusing the highest level of asylum seekers in the EU other than refugees that we are bringing in from Turkey, Lebanon or other places. People who arrive here seeking refuge are being refused in huge numbers. More than 3,500 people were deported last year. As Deputy Wallace said, we get relatively small numbers of asylum seekers. There is a view that processes are being put in place to, in effect, shut down the appeals process for asylum seekers and it is most difficult to succeed. The EUROSTAT figures do not show Ireland in a favourable light.

My final point is on Calais. I appreciate the Minister of State's role in delivering on the motion that was before the House. I very much recognise that. It is an initiative Members on many sides of the House want to see delivered. While we feel very strongly about unaccompanied children in Calais, there are also unaccompanied children and other refugees in Greece, Italy and other places. We cannot just elevate Calais and lose sight of the bigger picture. The processes need to be in place to deal with the issue in its totality. What level of dialogue takes place with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on the issue? I am worried that we are not sufficiently equipped to deal with the issue. We have a very poor history in terms of taking unaccompanied minors into this country and the type of accommodation they were put into. Traditionally, there has been a very low level of care. Care assessments were cursory. Many minors were housed in hostels and did not even have a social worker. That has been completely stood on its head now. On paper, we have gold-plated standards of child care but there is not enough coming through. We must examine the balance.

I do not in any way argue that we should go back to old regime. Children deserve to come and to be treated like Irish children, to be in a home environment and all the rest of it, but at the same time we must put resources into the area if we want to deliver on our commitments. We do not have sufficient resources in place. Tusla does not have sufficient staff at the coalface. Are there timelines for the delivery of some of the minors from Calais? We will take up the Minister of State’s offer of providing names to him. How much extra money is being put into this area, because it takes time to train people? Where is the public advertising campaign not just for the Calais children, but the others ones for foster parents to come forward because foster care is far cheaper than residential care and far preferable in terms of integrating people into society? There has not been any programme. Once people apply to become foster parents or to provide supported lodgings, they should be put through the mill in terms of being vetted and all the rest but the process is really off-putting and lengthy. It takes more than four months. That should not be the case. The process is completely unwieldy. What targets and measures are in place so that we can deliver on our commitments because I am worried about the issue?