Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have been awaiting the legislation the Minister mentioned to streamline and speed up the process since this Government came to power and there is still no sign of it. Many people are in limbo because their cases have come to a standstill while we wait for this legislation. That is further compounding the difficulties they are experiencing. The direct provision system as I have experienced it over 12 years of working with asylum seekers is a system of open prisons.

It is not a system of which we should be proud, and we should not claim it is better than those of most other European countries. What we should do is to put in place a humane system that would allow people, after a reasonable period of time, to live and participate in the community. This would also encourage integration and go some way towards reducing racism in this country. We should deal with cases expeditiously, and if people must be sent home we should do so quickly rather than putting them through the torture they are going through.

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