Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

We need them now. These children are to be deported, or their parents are to be deported or they are all to be deported. This is daft as the children have been educated here. It is only when one speaks with these people that one realises how daft and paradoxical their cases are. The residential clause introduced by the Minister stipulates that if one of these people has been out of the country in the past 12 months for any period, they do not qualify for social welfare or residency status. This is stupid as these people may have had compelling reasons in some cases to leave. If such harsh legislation was needed to facilitate the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, there should have been some mitigating factor stipulating that if one was out of the country for compassionate reasons or for a similar cause, some flexibility would be afforded. The residential clause is causing unnecessary hardship and trauma.

If all races on the Earth were brought together, there would be no race with a greater knowledge of immigration than the Irish, who have gone all over the world. Some may say that the Irish went to work, which we did, but the people who come to Ireland do so to work also. We should not punish those who fall by the wayside. Some of the rules and regulations currently being applied by the Department of Social and Family Affairs, if challenged by European courts, could be overturned. These rules are extraordinary, and the Minister knows this.

I am not filled with the euphoria that was generated from the benches on the Government side, despite the best efforts of the Minister. The slogan in the last election was "A lot done, more to do" but there is little done and much more to do.

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