Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)

I do not take it personally. It is a perfectly legitimate charge to say that a politician or Minister acts without compassion. I do not take that personally and I know the Deputy did not mean it in that way.

On the deportation of children, I do not derive any pleasure from doing that. If I were to say that we will not deport children, it would put the State in an impossible position. The message would go out to people that if they arrive in Ireland and claim asylum and have children, it does not matter what happens in the process, because at the end of the process the person can never be forced to leave. I do not regret the decisions that have been made. It is an essential part of an effective asylum system. Regrettably, it is something that has to be done.