Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Sometimes when people come in and sit down it is very complicated and it is necessary to go into it further. Sometimes the matter is easily resolved which just requires somebody to sit down and take the time to have that conversation. Sometimes it can be resolved with a phone call. I accept what the witnesses have said about that.

I accept Sr. Keenan's point that interpretation is not just about knowing the language but the skills that go with that are also vital. Before I got into this line of work, I worked in behavioural therapy dealing with people who had addiction, substance misuse and mental health issues. We had policies in place so that when I heard some difficult stuff in those conversations with people, I had a place to go and speak about that - supervision to look after myself - which is very important. During their journey to get here, some of the migrants have had very difficult and traumatic times before they reached Ireland. It is important to have that support in place.

Can the committee do anything to improve interpreter services for migrants? For example, should we contact the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science regarding the diploma course that was mentioned?