Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. This situation is peculiar in some ways. Everyone agrees with the witnesses that the methods chosen by the Department and the Government in the interim are entirely inappropriate. In effect, they got around the Supreme Court judgment and, de facto, made it impossible for asylum seekers to work. We agree with all of the points made. I will not repeat them or seek conformation for aspects in respect of which we already agree.

Mr. Henderson referred to this being the first occasion on which how we treat asylum seekers is being set down in law. That is an important point.

He seems to be saying - in fairness, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission said it as well - that given the importance of that and its historic nature, no civil society groups have been involved in any meaningful way in the preparation of what is an historic change in our legislative approach. In that context and given that we are talking about a date at the end of June, we must put up the red flag and collectively try to see how we might address that matter. That is what the Irish Refugee Council is saying. Has this ever happened to our guests in any other arena in terms of legislation where their voice would effectively have been excluded?