Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also wonder what the Cabinet committee on social policy does. One of the big injustices on our watch is the incarceration of people in so-called direct provision centres. The Government has failed to implement any of the 173 recommendations of the McMahon report, which was published a year and a half ago. An tUachatarán, Michael D. Higgins, described the proposals as reasonable and practical. He went on to say that the refusal to allow asylum seekers the right to work is heartbreaking and immoral. He said their treatment was narrow and mean and he urged an amnesty for those who have been here for longer than five years. There are 4,301 people in direct provision centres. Some have been there for one and a half years. A total of 604 have lived in these centres for more than five years. They are not allowed to cook for themselves, they are not allowed to work and there is a limit on how far their children can progress through our education system.

Christmas is only seven weeks away. I have visited the direct provision centre in Mosney several times. It is like Long Kesh without the watchtowers, the barbed wire and the armed guards. I know we are short of time and I do not want to be greedy. Will the Taoiseach tell us when the recommendations of the McMahon report will be implemented? Will he update us on the status of the immigration and residency reform Bill? Will he tell us when the International Protection Act 2015 will come into being?

See this speech in context