Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response, which was quite "Department of Justice-y" in many ways - I apologise for using that phrase - in that it referred to the need to progress, judicial reviews and so on. Rarely do I get a response from the Department that refers to the impact on the lives of people in the system or acknowledges that, as a result of the delay in introducing legislation, the judicial review proceedings and the changes in the procedures for subsidiary protection applications, families and people - real human beings - are left waiting in accommodation for years on end with nothing to do, are constantly worried and are in the dark about their futures. The answers lack any kind of human element.

I admit that we are under pressure from the EU-IMF programme and the ECB to introduce other legislation, but the delay in this Bill is perpetual. It has been ten years coming and has been pushed back constantly. People need it to be introduced if something is to be done about their situations.

The judicial review process costs a fortune, but the current situation is without credibility. No one believes that we have a proper, fair or transparent immigration system. Some of the country's legal minds believe that it is a sham. I will not apologise for delays caused by judicial reviews when our system does not stand up to scrutiny.

Today, there has been a great deal of discussion, particularly in the media, about the long-term effects of institutionalisation. People were kept in places for long periods, often against their will, and received very small subsistence payments, if any. The line is that it was a product of the time. In this country today, thousands of people spend five, six or seven years in direct provision on a pittance and live in small rooms with their children, sometimes with as many as four people to a room, yet we are turning a blind eye. The constant bureaucratic attitude to people's suffering is becoming tiresome. We need to do something about it.

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