Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

——they can legitimately expect, as a taxpayer, to be able to use the services of one of the major maternity hospitals in Dublin but unless they get a number they cannot even enter the system and be guaranteed that they will receive attention and deliver their baby in the hospital of their choice. That may be fine for women who are sufficiently well off to give birth to their children in Mount Carmel Hospital but it is not good enough for the many Dubliners and others from throughout the country who give birth in Holles Street hospital and who expect to be able to use the hospital they pay for from their taxes. It is a shame on the Government that this crisis in our maternity hospitals has become even worse since the passage of the referendum which, apparently, was about sorting out the crisis in the maternity hospitals.

Like all of us, I believe the Minister is capable of taking a humane interest in the welfare of other people. What does he propose to do to sort out the current shambles regarding people applying for visas to visit relatives here for legitimate family reasons? I have spoken to the Minister about this issue on a number of occasions and I believe he is well-intentioned but he does not appear to be able to put anything in place which would offer people a reasonable expectation that if their relatives wish to come here on a visit, they will not be treated in the way many applicants currently are being treated.

I draw the Minister's attention to three typical cases on my files and in his office for months and years. I want to highlight, first, the case of two Nigerian doctors working in our health service, and I understand our health service is delighted to have them. They are working in two of the major hospitals in Dublin city. They are well-regarded doctors. They are active members of their local church and are highly regarded citizens in the community in which they live. They have four boys but, unfortunately, their third child has spina bifida. From time to time that child is under the care and attention of the Central Remedial Clinic in Clontarf, and it has been suggested that the child should get the support of continuous home care.

The family has a direct blood aunt in Lagos, Nigeria, who is willing to come here either by arrangement of a visitor's visa or by way of a work permit. The aunt is a civil servant in her late 40s or early 50s and she is willing to give up her job to mind her sister's special needs child while that child is very young and in need of care and attention. That would allow both parents continue their important job of working as doctors in the Irish health system. What is difficult about that? The doctors want to go through all the correct mechanisms yet there does not appear to be a way to address what is a reasonable request in the context of the humanitarian needs of a particular family who are important employees in the Irish health system.

The second case I want to bring to the Minister's attention is that of a doctor from Pakistan who is married to an Irish nursing sister in one of our maternity hospitals. He has received awards for entrepreneurship from the Government. Recently he and his wife happily had a second child. As is perfectly reasonable, particularly for someone from the Indian sub-continent, the doctor wants his mother to spend about a month here on a family visit with the newborn child. He has worked in the health service, is an Irish citizen and has been given an award for entrepreneurship by the Government, while his wife is Irish born, of Irish parentage and works as a sister in one of our maternity hospitals. Despite repeated requests to the Department, it is impossible to arrange for the mother to make a short visit.

As I told the Minister on previous occasions, we could introduce a guarantee system or points system whereby persons who have been here for a period and perhaps made contributions, as is the case with the couple to whom I have referred who work in the health service, would take out an insurance bond. Such systems are in place in other countries. Why should the State deny such people ordinary family visits?

The Minster made a very good speech yesterday on anti-racism measures in the workplace. Will he explain the reason for the policy of blanket refusal of applications on behalf of family members living outside the European Union who wish to make short visits following the birth of a child? I understand the Minister's officials are terrified that we will be burdened by people overstaying and abusing visits. While this may be a legitimate concern, it is a measure of the Minister's performance that he should address the reasonable needs of multicultural families living here.

Is there a Member who does not have a member of the family, whether a child, niece or nephew, married to somebody from another country, probably outside the European Union? I have nieces and nephews married to people from the Indian sub-continent and the Chinese community. It is part of life. Our young people travel around the world on their gap year, in the year after college or to work for a couple of years. It is unbelievable that we expect that a percentage of them will not marry people from far away. Some of them will make their homes here, in which case their in-laws will legitimately wish to visit. It is a measure of the Minister's ingenuity that he should be able to address this need because, as he is aware, the system causes considerable grief to families and is unfair.

Celebrations normally attend the birth of a child, whether in the form of a christening, blessing or other ceremony, in all the various communities. There is not a community on earth which does not celebrate the birth of a child and not a grandparent on the planet who does not wish to see a grandchild. It is one of the bases of human celebration, yet the Department, unfortunately, appears to have a policy of blanket refusal with regard to reasonable applications from foreign residents to allow family members to visit on special occasions. If the Minister fears the system will be abused, there are examples around the world of schemes established to eliminate abuse.

I will give a third example from my case file. It concerns a married couple from the Ukraine who have lived and worked in Dublin for a long time. They have a right to stay and will, in due course, become citizens. Happily, the woman, who is in her early 40s, has become pregnant for a second time with a much longed for child. Her mother still lives in the Ukraine. Is it unreasonable that in a late pregnancy the woman should have the comfort of a visit from her mother? What part of the Department's system would collapse if a mother from the Ukraine visited her expectant daughter?

The Department issued several refusals, the last of which included a nasty comment that only one appeal would be permitted. In other words, the couple should not bother the Department again. As a result, the expectant mother was forced to ask her mother to get a visa for Germany, which is relatively easy, and travel there to visit her. If Germany, part of the European Union, did not have a problem with the mother visiting and her daughter meeting her there, why is the Department terrified that a visit by a Ukrainian grandmother with a job, a house and a family to which she wants to return will undermine its entire foundations? If the Minister were on the Opposition benches, he would chortle at the policy his officials are imposing. I pay him the compliment of assuming he does not have the opportunity to see most files of this nature.

Another important issue is the time required to process legitimate citizenship applications from people working here. Processing is taking longer and longer. I believe there is a room in the Department filled to the ceiling with files, from which an official occasionally selects a bunch. This room is getting increasingly stuffed with applications but nothing is happening. The Minister is responsible for giving guidance to his Department. I recall that he talked about providing a one-stop shop to facilitate the different queries that arise in a society with so many people born elsewhere. Where is the one-stop shop? Despite all the money spent on the Department, the position seems to be getting progressively worse. I am not the only Member who must try to explain to people the reason the immigration system appears to be in such chaos.

The Minister spoke yesterday of this being a country of immigration. He discussed the need for people in the workplace to behave properly and not to discriminate against people from other countries working here. Why does he not apply these precepts in his Department? Why do his officials, when dealing with visa applications, not show some modicum of efficiency and humanity or explain the rules?

I listened to my colleague, Deputy Gilmore. Unlike many others, I am aware from experience that complicated residence applications must be accompanied by original documents or certified copies thereof. I compliment the Irish Refugee Council on providing an excellent service to those seeking information but not all applicants are aware of the service. The system the Minister has allowed to fester in his Department is shameful given our history and experience.

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