Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the new Ombudsman and wish him well in the time ahead. I have no doubt he will give the role his best. He mentioned direct and indirect discrimination and the housing given to refugees the day they arrived in the country. There was an attempt to settle a number of families on a semi long-term basis. There were objections to that on the basis that, presumably, they were not welcome in an area. How do we deal with that? I assume from the Ombudsman's opening remarks that he intends to deal with those kinds of issues. I strongly agree with him. We should expect to be able to treat those who come here to seek help in the same way that we would like to have been treated when we had to go in the opposite direction.