Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They were working in the criminal area in the Criminal Courts of Justice, CCJ. I got talking to one particular barrister who was awaiting a case for mention. It would have been a matter of asking what was being done next in the case and it would have taken two or three minutes. The rate for that for this barrister, who I did not know, was €29 but that person was there for the entire day. When one looks at it like that in the round, that is just nuts. What is the rate per hour? What is the minimum wage now? It is €11.30 per hour. There are things we need to review in that regard. It goes to the judicial discussion we had earlier about the ability of the courts to respond appropriately.

On the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, as a matter of interest, what did it raise in 2022? I was looking for the figure in the briefing information but I did not see it. I used to always ask that question in previous Dáileanna.

On international protection, which is the matter most Deputies have referred to, obviously, there is not a soul in the House, or I would like to think there is not one, who would not condemn the behaviour of racists across this country. I cannot imagine there is a region that has been left untouched by protests in some way, shape or form. It is disgraceful and is not reflective of the vast majority of the public who want to welcome refugees and recognise why they are coming here in the first instance. It is, to my mind, disgraceful. The International Protection Office and its processes, and the process in general, is not without its flaws. I know that, the members know that, and everybody in this room knows that. There are difficulties with the processing time and with the endless appeals that go on. Obviously, there are difficulties with accommodation because there has been a 400% year-on-year increase in numbers. There are difficulties, in tandem with the war in Ukraine and the efforts of Departments, including the Minister's, try to accommodate as many people as possible. I am heartened by the Minister's remarks on the Thornton Hall site. It was the very first thing I thought of when conversations started about whether we were going to be able to accommodate everybody. There are not really any structures there, as the Minister knows, but at least it has services in the sense that it has a road and, as far as I know, waste and water infrastructure. Obviously, it would take significant investment if it was to be looked at. However, we own it. It was worth €300,000 when the State paid €30 million for it, so we might as well do something with it. It is concerning to me, and I am sure to other members, that it has sat there for 15 or 20 years, and not very much has happened to it. Perhaps a conversation between the Minister and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth would be worthwhile in relation to tasking it and specifying a purpose for the site and then making it known to the public.

I will conclude my remarks. I appreciate it may not be under this budget, but can the Minister touch on the International Protection Office and its role in liaising with our airports? This goes specifically to the number of individuals arriving who have, I believe, failed to produce documentation. The number I saw published was approximately 5,000 which is hugely concerning.

I appreciate that there are reasons for that which involve criminality or criminal groups, but not always. Will the Minister give a brief overview of that before we move on to the next Vote?