Mr. Reuben Hambakachere:

To what Mr. Collins said, in my opening statement I mentioned the lengthy appeal processes that occur when people are not advised and do not get any legal advice. Some form of orientation is required when a person arrives. If I walked through the door, came into the committee room and was asked to chair this committee, I would struggle, obviously. It does not matter what my literacy level is. I would struggle because I do not have the orientation. It is my first time in this space. A person arriving in Ireland today to seek protection is handed a form which becomes the basis of a legal document later on throughout the process, which is a problem. It is setting someone up for failure. The level of literacy and language the person is engaging with need to be considered. Also, people are coming from traumatised positions and they arrive before they can actually engage with the processes in Ireland. They first must receive medical attention before they engage with the processes. We saw that happen when Ukrainians arrived but many of the people who came through the international protection application system did not get that support. They filled in forms and went through the whole process, only realising later that they needed time to process what was happening to them. That is what we are looking at. It affects how the whole case goes, right up to the end. When people have legal advice and are supported from the beginning, I would imagine they have better outcomes.