Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008. We have been waiting a long time for the Bill.

To understand how immigration affects many people of diverse nationalities, it would be useful to consider the experience of the Irish diaspora. Every Member of this House has been affected by emigration. Since the famine, Irish people have emigrated to the UK, Australia, the United States and further afield to Argentina. They have made those countries wealthy in cultural and spiritual as well as economic terms.

I grew up in a family which had a newsagent background. We did not have a bad standard of living but my father worked in the UK for most of his life. Until the 1980s, it was normal for members of the family to work in the UK and elsewhere. Without that financial support, the business would not have prospered. I pay tribute to the assistance given by our close neighbour to the people who emigrated in the 1940s and 1950s. We have experienced conflict with the UK over the years but that country gave direction and a sense of fairness to Irish people working there. Most of the people who emigrated to the UK felt they were given a chance and treated with respect and dignity. If they were prepared to work, they were never asked their background in Irish society. We should also recognise the contributions made by Australia and the United States.

Many emigrants and descendants of the Irish diaspora are now returning to help build this country. Since the foundation of the State, it was difficult for us to prosper because the best and brightest left by boat or plane. Since people started to return with their experiences and outlooks on life the country has become better off.

A lot more could be done by this Government in terms of funding Irish centres in the UK and the elderly Irish who, while not forgotten, suffered the slings and arrows of life's misfortunes and have fallen through the safety net. We could do a little more for these people and for the centres that provide them with assistance. I have visited the various Roscommon associations in Birmingham, Manchester and London, which remain reliant on the Labour Government in the UK for funding. However, they have been informed that Ireland is now economically well off and that they should seek assistance from the authorities here.

I travelled to Australia in 1984 and on the way I passed through Turkey and met a number of would-be asylum seekers from Iran and Iraq who did not want to be involved in the horrific war started by Saddam Hussein. These were normal people who had fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, who did not want to fight in the war and who were obliged to live in a no-man's-land in Turkey. They relied on contributions from the Turkish people and could not gain entry to Europe. However, a few years later they may have been successful in respect of achieving the latter. Were it not for the grace of God, we might have found ourselves in a situation similar to theirs. On many occasions when members of the Irish diaspora left this country, they did not do so out of choice. However, people can now leave Ireland out of choice and can, for example, take a flight to the United States or wherever.

Deputy Thomas Byrne highlighted difficulties involved in using the terms "aliens" and "illegal aliens". The term "asylum seekers" is also problematic. However, the new term "protection applicants" is much more sensitive in nature and I congratulate those responsible for suggesting that it be used.

Many of the people who travel to Ireland often have no choice but to do so — they do not come voluntarily. We have extended the hand of friendship to them and one hopes that, like many Irish emigrants who returned here after working abroad, they can go back to their home countries and help build them up by using the knowledge they gained and the money they obtained here. Many of the countries from which these people come are in a state of conflict and they come here to find a safe refuge.

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people entering the country. Perhaps we were not ready for this eventuality. If Ireland had not been a country from which huge numbers of people emigrated in the past, our tolerance in respect of those coming here might not have been as good.

At one stage, there was no physiotherapist in the town in which I live because it was not possible to encourage anyone to come there to work. Thankfully, however, we managed to find two Indian physiotherapists who were willing to work in the town. As a politician, I am glad of that because I am no longer obliged to deal with the difficulties that arise. Elderly people in my town are now receiving the physiotherapy to which they should have had access in the first instance. The care and attention provided by the physiotherapists to whom I refer has been fantastic.

I am concerned because many of the places in which these asylum seekers — I do not like to use that term — live seem to be incentive-driven establishments. As far as I am aware, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has responsibility in this area. Individuals have bought old hotels in many of our towns and have herded asylum seekers into them. In many instances, financial gain seems to be the driving motivation for the operators of these establishments.

On Monday last, the residents of a temporary hotel located adjacent to my office in Ballinamore invited me to visit the premises. These people are extremely concerned about the legislation and they wanted to highlight to local Deputies the circumstances in which they live. My secretary visited the premises on my behalf and from what she said, those premises are not up to standard. For example, there was a lack of washing machines. Some of the people she met are extremely talented chemists, biologists and teachers and they are still waiting for their visas to be approved. As matters stand, they cannot work. It is soul destroying to witness the circumstances in which these people are obliged to live.

I am satisfied that the Health Service Executive is monitoring the premises to which I refer. On the day after my secretary's visit, three washing machines appeared and pipes that should have been fixed previously were finally repaired. Perhaps the people who operate premises of this type are of the view that the Government is just throwing money at this problem and are trying to reap the benefits. I accept that people must make some financial gain but a balance must be struck. Those with responsibility for this matter should ensure that the people to whom I refer are not treated as second-class citizens. They are human beings and we should treat them with the highest respect.

In recent days I met a terminally ill young man whose parents are in their 80s and 90s. He is cared for by a lady from China. The care and attention she provides is incredible. However, everyone involved is concerned that she will be deported. I accept that the law must be adhered to but the Minister should examine cases on an individual basis. If applications are received from people such as the man to whom I refer who require care and attention and who cannot access it in any other way, there should be some amnesty. I forwarded the details relating to this case to the Minister. One hates to see people caught up in such harrowing situations.

I wish to refer to organised crime. We already have enough criminals in this country. An extremely small percentage of the people who have come to Ireland are responsible for organised crime. My business was recently targeted in the middle of the day by four women and a man who took whatever they pleased from the premises. My staff have always been told to treat people with respect, which is what they did, but on this occasion the Ireland of the welcomes was taken for granted. When the people to whom I refer were eventually caught in Wexford, it emerged that in the order of 43 cases were pending against them. When gardaí visited the house in which they were living at the time, these people were able to raise a bond of €12,000. A total of 38 gardaí from stations throughout the country were involved in pursuing these people. God only knows the number of man hours they spent investigating them and the trail of destruction they left in their wake. I presume these individuals remain in the country. I am not concerned with what they took from me, but legislation must be introduced to ensure that people such as those do not get away with the crimes they commit.

I wish to praise the Garda. In recent times, trouble arose among some of the immigrants living in the area I represent. The Garda organised a football match between various groups and got to know these people. It is amazing what bringing people into normal society can do, and that trouble has certainly stopped. I praise and thank the Garda for the work done in liaising with these people.

I pay tribute to the Immigrant Council of Ireland, which has certainly championed the rights of immigrants. The issue of family reunification is dealt with in my office and elsewhere, and it is harrowing for families wishing to be reunified. For one reason or another, some families cannot achieve this aim. We have been in this position ourselves and there are still undocumented Irish in the United States. We cannot always speak from two sides of our mouth. We cannot just lobby for the undocumented Irish.

Not enough is being done for them and I appeal to the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, to treat the issue much more seriously. We have up to 50,000 such undocumented Irish in the United States and I know of one or two who cannot come back for various functions. We also have to treat our own visitors in Ireland with the respect they deserve.

Immigration is a key factor in the Irish economy and it will continue to be an important feature for the foreseeable future. The contribution made by immigrants to the economy and Ireland in general through culture, arts and economic activity is significant. More than 100,000 people from outside the EU area have been admitted to the State for employment. The health service and most other services around the country would collapse if these people were not here.

I note the number of applications has been decreasing since 2005 and the proportion of work permit refusals has also decreased since then. The Bill would provide a new system of managing and tracking persons entering the country, from visitors to other holidaymakers.

The issue of bogus marriages must be addressed, although it should not get in the way of the right to marry. Section 123(2) of the Bill provides:

A marriage purportedly contracted in the State between two persons one or each of whom is a foreign national is invalid in law

unless the foreign national or, as the case may be, each of them—

(a) has, not later than 3 months before the date of solemnisation of the marriage, given notification in the prescribed form to the Minister of the intention to marry,

Even more problematic will be that both parties will have to be the holder of an entry permission issued for the purpose of the intended marriage or a residence permission other than a protection application entry permission or a non-renewable residence permission.

In other words, asylum seekers and people on a non-renewable residence permit will not be permitted to marry in the State, even where they intend to marry an Irish or EU citizen. It is a difficult position and I ask the Minister to explore the matter further. The three-month notice to be given is somewhat draconian but it is acceptable.

A total of 5,630 people appear to have evaded orders of deportation and we do not know how many are still resident in the country. The Department does not seem to know this either. Anytime one looks to contact the Department it is like getting through to the CIA. It seems to be open only two or three days a week.

As national politicians we are supposed to have a hotline but it is embarrassing going back to people telling them we have tried to contact the Department today and yesterday. They probably think we are doing nothing about their concern when we are. I accept the Department has been swamped by various applications but as politicians, we like to get back to constituents who come into us.

The key difficulty in Irish immigration law is that it will not be resolved totally by this Bill. I accept it makes inroads in dealing with a very difficult area.

There are some very positive aspects in the Bill. The term "protection applicant" is much more user-friendly than "asylum seeker" or, God forbid, what they use in the United States, "illegal alien".

See this speech in context