Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The accommodation that is used across Europe for asylum seekers varies considerably. I accept that the accommodation varies in Ireland too. There are issues for children and families in relation to accommodation. The biggest problem is the length of time that children and families are spending in the system. That was the point my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, was making about the conditions. We are seeking to solve this problem by introducing new legislation to provide for a single procedure. This will mean that people's cases will be dealt with within a period of between six months and a year. The report says that when this more effective and efficient procedure has been introduced, other improvements can follow. Of course this procedure will also mean that economic migrants who are here illegally - people who are not asylum seekers but are assessed under that process - will have to return where possible to their country of origin. The EU stresses the issue of returns as well.

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