Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Bill, which is the natural legislative follow-up to the referendum on citizenship which was held in June. Fine Gael took a responsible and constructive approach to the proposal to amend the Constitution and will adopt the same approach to the Bill.

It was not until the referendum in June that we discovered the number of racist people in this country. I supported the referendum and when I was in the count centre in Wexford, I could not believe some of the things that had been written on ballot papers. Some people are very narrow-minded and do not remember what happened to Irish people who were obliged to emigrate to England, America and other far away fields and who were made quite welcome. I accept that we must defend Ireland and Irish citizenship. People should be very proud to be Irish citizens.

This is a sensitive issue. We must welcome people who come to Ireland to work as nurses, doctors or whatever because they bring with them expertise in their fields. I thank these people for coming here and helping out, particularly those who have come into the health services in which there is a staff deficit.

I wish to refer to work visas. Many illegal immigrants and refugees enter the country who may remain on social welfare payments for two to three years. This has provided a perfect opportunity for ordinary Irish citizens to become racists. The Minister is in a position to take action in respect of this matter. When a person enters the country — at Dublin, Rosslare or wherever — if he or she is dealt with as soon as possible — or even if a technical hitch arises — he or she should not need to draw social welfare payments or rely on the State for a long period. If these people want to work, they should be allowed to do so as long as they can fend for themselves. Irish people are being given the chance to become racists under the current system and they ask why these individuals are being allowed to sponge off the State. I ask the Minister to give consideration to this matter. I am not a racist but there are those who have, perhaps, obtained votes by making statements similar to those to which I refer in this House.

I do not want to rehearse what Deputy Howlin stated. I am aware of the case of a Filipino nurse in my constituency who came here to work in a nursing home for two years. She came to Ireland without her children and husband. Her husband wanted to visit her but I encountered significant red tape in securing a visa for him to visit. He only sought a holiday visa for two to three months. It was a genuine case and he has returned home while his wife has continued nursing in Wexford. I could not understand what was going on because she was recruited to work in the nursing home by an agency recognised by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. As Deputy Jim O'Keeffe stated in his contribution, Ireland has a mish-mash asylum system which gives rise to total confusion. It was not until my colleagues and I were discussing the Bill at a parliamentary party meeting that I heard of other cases similar to the one I encountered. My colleagues experienced the red tape involved. One must ring various Departments but no official will provide an answer. Cases usually involve calling the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Foreign Affairs.

Deputy Jim O'Keeffe proposed the establishment of an Oireachtas helpline and I ask the Minster to examine this proposal as soon as possible because it would reduce the workload for Departments. All Members want is a little help and guidance regarding which direction they should take in such cases. It would be simpler if a helpline were in place.

Deputy Howlin spoke passionately earlier about the case of the Kaltchev family — Kamen, Ivalina, Stefan and Diana — and I feel the same. Children born in Ireland before the referendum should be allowed to remain in Ireland together with their families. The Kaltchev family is in this position. I thank the Minister for his help in the case to date. I rarely make representations on behalf of such people but this is a genuine case.

I refer to an article published in my local newspaper, The Wexford People, on 14 October, which contained a letter written by an 11 year old attending the Christian Brothers primary school in Wexford. The article stated:

The best friend of an 11-year-old Bulgarian boy who is due to be deported this week after spending half his life in Wexford, has written a personal letter to the Minister for Justice, asking that he be allowed to stay.

'He is my best friend. Please could you let him stay in Ireland,' pleaded Conor Hanton of 19 Tuskar View to Minister Michael McDowell about his friend, Stefan Kalcheva of Goodtide Harbour.

Stefan who is also 11, arrived here with his parents, Kamen and Ivalina Kaltcheva five years ago and started his primary school education in the CBS where he is now in sixth class.

'Despite his lack of English, he was very keen to learn. He is a bright lad and very well-behaved. He is now fluent in English and doing very well. I think it would be terrible for him if he was deported,' said the Principal, Joss Furlong.

The family visited my clinic on a number of occasions. When he first spoke I thought Stefan had been born and reared in the middle of Wexford town because I could not believe his Wexford twang. It is extremely saddening that this family will be deported.

I received a letter recently about Stefan from Joss Furlong, the principal in the CBS. He stated:

When Stefan arrived in our school I was struck by his enthusiasm for learning, in spite of the fact that he could not speak English. We organised extra tuition for him in English. As a result of this, the work of a variety of class teachers over the years and Stefan's own internal motivation, he has made fantastic progress. He is now fluent in English, his work is of a very high standard, his application is excellent and his behaviour impeccable. To deport him and his family, having become so settled, would be extremely unfair and in my opinion very damaging, especially for Stefan.

I ask the Minister to taken into account the humane aspect of his story because I was touched by it.

I refer to the kernel of the asylum problem. Twelve members of the Garda national bureau of immigration based in Cherbourg were recalled in June. I am not sure if the Minister remembers that eight Turkish nationals were found dead in a trailer in Rosslare in December 2001. Five of their countrymen survived and some are still living in Wexford town. I will never forget the day I visited the harbour where these people were found. It was saddening and it took me a long time to get over it. The gardaí based in Cherbourg searched boats and lorries and checked passports and visas. Many asylum seekers and stowaways were prevented from entering Ireland on boats and lorries as a result.

Two weeks ago two Iraqi Kurds were found in the back of a container in Rosslare. We could have faced the same scenario as in 2001. Fortunately, the men were in a curtain side lorry in which air was circulating, but they were dehydrated. Following this incident, my colleague, Deputy Jim O'Keeffe stated Ireland would become known as a soft touch for refugees as more and more refugees try to escape to Ireland in the back of lorries and vans. These men survived unlike the Turkish nationals in 2001. I implore the Minister to examine this issue. If he thinks the 12 gardaí based at Cherbourg will make up the numbers for the promised additional gardaí, it is a sad reflection on him and his Department.

I hope the Minister acknowledges the human element to this issue. I spoke about this on local radio last Friday and I met other people who could not believe the gardaí based at Cherbourg had been redeployed. The Garda can deploy as many members as it wants in Rosslare but, once refugees arrive in Rosslare, they must be looked after. Gardaí must be based at the points of departure of ships and so on. I ask the Minister to re-examine this issue.

Last week in The Irish Times, a report by Kitty Holland outlined the number of asylum seekers who have gone missing from care in the past year. I was amazed at the number of young people aged eight, 13 and 16, teenagers and children, who have gone missing. I would be interested to hear the Minister's explanation of this. I hope the Minister will take some of my points on board and perhaps act on them accordingly. I ask him to inquire into the matter of gardaí based in Cherbourg as a matter of urgency.

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