Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We all realise the number of people seeking asylum or refugee status here will not diminish in the near future, given the amount of wars that are taking place around the world. We only have to look to places like Yemen to see that a lot of the problems of tomorrow are being created today by the indiscriminate destruction in that country. It is probably worth noting that none of the three countries that were so eager to bomb Syria last week wants to take in Syrian refugees. We will have serious challenges in this area for a long time to come. Maybe instead of these glorified refugee camps we should be considering the State itself doing something directly in terms of building facilities that can provide accommodation for these people while they wait for their applications to be processed. We should consider this rather than relying on a mercenary private sector which is providing despicable conditions for these people. Has there be any thought given to that option? Would the State consider it? It is not as though we are getting a bargain at €67 million. Has thought been given to the State doing something directly to provide more acceptable living conditions?