Mr. Nick Henderson:

I will repeat and clarify what I stated earlier. The Bill creates a right. It is likely that there will be applications, the number of which we can project. However, the number of applications will depend on the number of refugees recognised by the State. We can project that as well. As Ms Finn just indicated, there is an existing infrastructure within the Department of Justice and Equality that considers these applications. It is considering applications made under the two IHAP schemes, the first in June and the second closing on Friday. The burden is on the applicant. There is no legal aid for the applicant. The State incurs no expense. There is a clear test to be met, which is laid out specifically in the Bill, namely, "dependent on the qualified person or is suffering from a mental or physical disability". The burden is on the applicant to show that they are dependent on the person or that there is "a mental or physical disability to such extent that it is not reasonable for him or her to maintain himself or herself fully". That test would have to be met.

To conclude, I will refer to the long-term benefits of family reunification to the individual. This would require a hearing on its own.

It is often said that the final part of a refugee's integration into a country and protection against the persecution that he or she fears is family reunification. It is that piece that allows the person to finally and properly settle for a period in the country that is giving him or her protection.

I understand the points made by Deputy Wallace and Senator Kelleher about the wider use of the money message in the Dáil. Even with that in mind, when we consider the standing order and the guidance stated in the note provided by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, we maintain that it is not appropriate for a money message to be given as there are no grounds for doing so and no tax is created. In addition, we argue that the incidental cost is questionable, particularly if one takes a literal reading of the Bill.