Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

—— which is an entirely different matter as the Deputy well knows. The Deputy asked for the number of non-EEA people who were prisoners at the relevant time. Some 662 people were convicted of offences of whom 150 have been deported, a further 127 have not been deported and are legally resident in the State, the situation of a further 108 is under consideration as to whether they will be deported, 25 evaded deportation when deportation was ordered against them and may not be in the State, and the other category to which I referred which relates to people who have no resident status and who may or may not be in the State and are probably not in the State amounts to 252.

Instead of attitudinising in a tabloid way on this matter he would be well advised to bear in mind that a non-EEA national mother of a family might have a conviction——

See this speech in context