Ms Danielle McLaughlin:

I believe that all the other services the Deputy has mentioned are very useful. We have made efforts as well to provide a lot of information on our website. We respond by email and by phone. Citizens Information has a lot of information. MABS would also be useful for people in mapping out a budget for returned emigrants. A lot of our advice is on pre-departure and preparation for return and our key advice, especially regarding access to entitlements, is to do their research, to be prepared and to look into what documents people will need on return instead of scrambling to find something that is in Australia or America when they are back in Ireland.

As to work the Department can do, the information that is available is very limited. It is buried somewhere in the website and it is hard to access information specifically about the habitual residence condition, HRC. The guidelines on the assessment are specifically written for deciding officers. They are not bespoke or user-friendly for the public. It is hard for advocates to work around that as well.

As for the training aspect, we are aware there is a large training programme within the Department but we know most of it is not mandatory but is optional. We believe the aforementioned discretionary power or just in the decision regarding the HRC can have an adverse impact in many of the cases we have seen or on people who potentially we are not seeing. I refer to many families who are returning who will get work and are entitled to child benefit and there probably are thousands of such people.

In very severe cases where people are left destitute or accessing homeless services, which has such a significant impact, deciding officers may not have been adequately trained or there is no ongoing updated training for new staff. That issue really needs to be looked at. Officers on the front line have such an impact on people and should have adequate training. They should also have the back-up of management support in terms of reviewing a case when it comes in to management, rather than deferring it to the appeals office.

The appeals offices are backed up and the delays are long. This is a huge resource to continue with long-term decisions that are affecting people and which really could - in our experience with the 12 cases we highlighted - have been avoided.