Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It seems to be a very important request because in the first place, longer delays are wrong when it comes to asylum seekers. They also allow a vacuum to develop where the most appalling attitudes are being expressed by a small number of people.

It is important that the Ombudsman should be enabled and empowered so that the system is as it is supposed to be, namely quick and efficient in dealing with applications for asylum in the short term. I have a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General and we are approaching 20 years of a direct provision system that was supposed to be temporary. When it is not temporary and there is minimum communication from the Department, a vacuum develops, which is dangerous. What the Ombudsman requests is important.