Mr. Justice Bryan McMahon:

I agree with Senator Black that we should ask the question as to whether, just because people have the right to work, it is an effective right to work. I adverted to this in my paper. There are a few things I have come across in this regard. First is opening a bank account, which one would imagine is a simple thing. However, local bankers seem to turn their faces against anyone from a direct provision centre. They do not seem willing to accept the addresses to open bank accounts. I know there is anecdotal evidence that people have tried to do so and failed. I also have anecdotal evidence to the contrary, that in some cases bank managers are a little more human and humane and that if a sponsor goes in with the resident, he or she may succeed in having a bank account opened. I have raised this myself with the Minister as something that should be addressed centrally. I do not see why the Minister or someone at his level cannot talk to the banks about this generally. We are talking about 3,000 people. It is not a huge number. If there are some controls to be put in because of bank laundering and fears of that, I am sure they could be agreed with the direct provision people. I agree with the Senator that this is a big issue. A prospective employer who sees any obstacle at all will use it to turn an applicant away. If there are 100 people on his or her payroll and they are all paid by bank draft or bank transaction on a Friday evening and if a resident, male or female, comes in and says he or she is in direct provision and does not have a bank account and asks to be paid in cash, the employer will say "No" just because it is difficult and an additional obstacle. The employer will ask why he or she should get involved. Similarly, driving licences should also be tackled centrally. There is no reason in the world that this should be any different for people in direct provision. I know that some of them are driving, so they must get away with it. I do not know fully what the position is but I do know anecdotally that they have difficulty getting driving licences. How is someone living in Millstreet or Portlaoise who gets a job in Tralee, Listowel or Limerick to get there? It is an ineffective right. These two examples should be addressed and simply resolved. I am not telling tales out of school but I know that the Minister for Justice and Equality has spoken to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport on these issues, so the matter is being kept alive.

I have addressed the issue of the locations of the centres already. The locations of some of them militate against getting a job. They can be six or eight miles out into the country and away from a town, and the transport is limited in some of these areas. I know centres which are served by a bus only once a day. The bus drops the kids at the school and comes home after collecting them, and there is no other transport in and out unless one has a bicycle or something. I therefore suggest to the authorities when they are picking a new location, if they have a choice of picking one near an urban centre or an area where work is available, that they consider those areas in making their choice and put them into their procurement process.