Dr. John Lannon:

I also thank members of the committee for their time today and for the attention it is giving to direct provision at this time. Ireland, collectively, needs to move speedily towards the implementation of the White Paper, notwithstanding the fact that some aspects of it are still open to discussion and need to be addressed. Broadly speaking, we need to ensure we get to a point where our treatment of international protection applicants is human-rights compliant. We also need to ensure that we do not leave the 6,500 people who are currently in direct provision in limbo while we are waiting two and a half or three years for an alternative to be implemented. I again thank members for their time and consideration of these matters.