Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

As one anti-war activist put it - if one sows war weapons, one reaps war refugees. It is a good way to put it. To batten down the hatches and say one is not letting anybody else in is shameful.

I wish to make a final point. The direct provision system in this country gives us a shameful record. There are 7,900 people in direct provision and over 55% of them have been in direct provision for over five years. Yesterday, Judge Bryan McMahon, who was appointed by the previous Minister to examine this, called for a once-off amnesty to be given to those 7,900 people to take them out of what can only be described as economic torture, living on €19 per week per adult and €9.60 per child per week. Then, when the children grow to teenagers and wish to be educated in this country they must pay EU education rates, which means it would cost approximately €18,000 to study for a degree.

Let us start examining our role.

Let us stop selling off NAMA properties, grab the housing that we can, look after the homeless and those who need homes here, as well as the refugees whom we can and are well able to take in and deal with the shameful record we have on direct provision.

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