Mr. Pablo Rojas Coppari:

As I point out in my submission, there is limited research on the mental health experience of migrant communities other than the Cairde report. That is the only one that examines the issue specifically. Barriers in accessing employment and services will certainly have an impact on the mental health outcomes of different migrant communities. The right to work for asylum seekers and their experience of direct provision will have an impact on asylum seekers and direct provision residents. The MRCI does not work directly with asylum seekers and those in the asylum system. There are strong parallels in the experiences of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers.

The point is not to compare groups but to draw parallels. We know that undocumented migrants do not have the right to work. There are 4,500 residents in direct provision but the number of undocumented migrants ranges from 20,000 to 26,000. They do not have the right to work, housing is not provided for them and they do not have access to any services, such as medical services.

What undocumented migrants lack is visibility. People do not know the extent of undocumented migrants, because there are no dedicated reception centres for undocumented migrants. There is no champion for undocumented migrants and they are completely invisible in both policy and political rhetoric. There is no politician championing the issue of undocumented migrants. That is borne out in what Rashmi said. Isolation and lack of visibility increases the problem of access to employment, services and poverty, together with other migrant communities.

There are dedicated services for people who experience torture and who are in the asylum system. Spirasi is the main provider of training and services for those who have experienced torture. I am not able to say how much that is in the mainstream of the health service, but there is no similar dedicated service for those who are victims of human trafficking. Obviously sexual trauma can be related to those who experience torture and other forms of exploitation but there are also differences between one and the other. That is something that can be modelled in a training programme.

There is a problem with interpreting foreign languages across services, not just in the provision of health services. The Health Service Executive has a clear policy on interpreting services but the implementation of that policy is still failing. Examples of children interpreting what their parents are saying is probably true when the parent is at the doctor but it is certainly true for people going to the social welfare office or in the school system. The positive element is that the integration strategy acknowledges there is an obligation on the different Departments that provide services to migrant communities to signpost what type of interpreter is available and how people can access that service. If we live up to the standards of the integration strategy, this will improve. There is certainly a gap in that at present.

Last week we heard about a victim of trafficking who has very poor English. When he accessed services, he was told he did not belong because he still cannot speak English having been in the country for 12 years. Not only is there a lack of services, but people experience racism and discrimination and do not always have access to the services of an interpreter when seeking to have their needs met.