Mr. Noel Neenan:

This is very important. The interpreter service is an intrinsic part of this so that people can communicate. In terms of the sensitivity, officials must see that treating people the same is not treating people equally. Officials need to be sensitised to the vulnerability and be open to assessment. In the migrant integration strategy, the Department committed itself to providing information rights and entitlements, particularly to migrant households presenting. In having that engagement, it is necessary to explore the issue with the person. Officials need to be supported to explore the issues and why people are there.

When they know that, they can act accordingly and link people to services they will need. There is a structural issue in supporting people in their humanity. They are officials but they are human beings dealing with other human beings and it is the Department of Social Protection. The same extends to the housing authority. It is about training and cultural awareness. Training in sensitivity to issues such as identifying the possibility of domestic violence and coercive control, and identifying vulnerable people and how they communicate with officials is absolutely critical to the quality of engagement that officialdom have and, in their own way, to be able to help people because that is why the officials are there and stay there. If that were in a nutshell, that is what I would say.

There is also the underpinning element. In terms of sensitivity, it also comes through knowledge and competency around rights of entitlement. When someone who has just lost his or her job and has particular characteristics walks into an agency, the official should understand the situation that the person is in and be aware of the kind of information that should be given to the person or the kind of pathway the person needs to know about. That is very important as well. It happens often, unfortunately, with simple things whereby people get the wrong information, wrong advice and wrong forms. That is a real problem because the person is heading in the wrong direction and he or she could be in a precarious situation. It is sensitising officials to hearing the person and the issues, and sensitising them to the pathways they need to know about and need to impart information on. That is a really important point.

In the housing side, about which Deputy Cairns asked, it is very worrying. While there is a circular provided by the Department around local authorities interacting with victims of domestic violence, one local authority pointed out to me that it is just a circular and that one does not have to help them. That is chilling. It was not said in an uncaring inhumane way; it was said from the point of view that they work within the structure. The structure needs to leave space for people to respond appropriately. That can be a problem. By way of a simple example of where this can happen in immigration, we have encountered cases of some people who may be undocumented, some of whom are covered by the latest developments, which is welcome, or who have a particular immigration permission and they have received the wrong advice from a homeless section in a local authority. They have been told that they need to go back to the Reception and Integration Agency. If they are a student, for example, that agency has no role in their case. There is confusion about what they should be doing. We were saying that when someone presents to the homeless section of a local authority, it is covered by section 2 of the Act. The definition of homelessness is clear in primary legislation. It should be applied. Officials should facilitate people to apply it in the vein of humanity with which the legislation reflects.

These are the kinds of actions we would strongly encourage. It would have the benefit that people would not fall off a cliff or be exposed to further exploitation, which is often what happens. A friend might help them fill out the forms or help them interpret. These friends are often not necessarily good actors. They are at risk of identity theft. We have seen, for example, people who have received help with their online application for a personal public services number and their identity has been stolen. These are the kinds of matters that have consequences and that can be avoided by proper deployment of services in an accessible way. Hopefully, that answers the Deputy's question.