Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. Does the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas have a breakdown by country for the Irish prisoners in jail abroad? I am familiar with the difficulties experienced by Irish prisoners in prisons in Britain, with people being moved around, ghosting and so on. Even when the legislation was there allowing people to be transferred home, the British Government was reluctant to do so at the time.

Ms Kirrane referred to the Supreme Court decision and the legislation going through. The committee might be able to do something on that, but it is down to Government time and so on. Are there particular parts of the world about which the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas would be more concerned about prisoners wanting to come home? Are there difficulties there? It is easier for people to travel within Europe, but more difficult in Latin America and the US. Is it down to agreements between governments outside the European Union?

She spoke about the conditions in jails, which has also come up in extradition cases in the courts. Do certain countries have particularly bad conditions even in the European sphere? I have visited jails in some of the Latin American countries. It is not only food; prisoners have to pay for their bed, security and water. The tap water cannot be drunk so people need bottled water which costs money. What is the role of Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas in that? Does it contact religious organisations that go to visit those Irish prisoners? Is there a website so that people visiting a particular country could visit an Irish prisoner? What can we do about the Supreme Court?

Ms Kirrane mentioned the slowdown in transfers. Was that on the Irish end or from the other countries? Reintegration works and families, particularly children, should not be made to suffer for the crimes of the individual family member. The conditions that children might have to go through to visit a parent or a loved one are appalling in some cases. Having them in prison at home makes it much easier.

Ms McHugh of Safe Home Ireland mentioned the phone calls. As a Deputy we have a direct line to the Departments, but it broke down on the medical card issue. I do not know if this was the experience of other Members. It was impossible to get through. As elected representatives we should have this access; it was not happening. Extra resources were put into it. There was particular difficulty with the medical card issue over the summer period. Deputies have access and there is a number there. I am not looking for work from Safe Home Ireland or anything else. However, Deputies may be able to make an intervention on behalf of people in particular areas.

Part of the reason for appointing a Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora was to have a joined-up approach. We have a briefing paper which mentions information provision, housing, driving, employment, health and so on. The list is there. They are actually looking at it. Since the appointment of the dedicated Minister of State, has there been a better joined-up approach or are the witnesses still experiencing delays?

Did Safe Home Ireland raise the difficulty it experienced directly with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and what was the Department's response?

The Crosscare interim registration permission seems practical. What are the blockages? What is causing the delay in the system? That is maybe something that we, as a committee, could do.

The second suggestion that included a section on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, seems a no-brainer. The briefing note from the Department says there is information on the global website but people are going to the INIS website. It is a difficult Department to deal with, in my own experience of it. It must be even more difficult for others.

Has NAMA ever offered housing assistance to returning migrants?

Most emigrants dream of returning home, no matter where they come from, unless their experience of their country of origin was particularly difficult. We need to facilitate that. Large numbers of people are returning. In 2016, there was something like 20,000 returning. Last year, the Department's figures state that a third of the 90,000 immigrants were returning Irish migrants. We understand there are difficulties, but some are outside the control of the Department. We questioned the Minister and the driving licence issue is a European problem. Are some of the difficulties that have caused delays European problems as well as Irish problems?