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

1 o’clock

I want to put on the record of the House that when Judge McMahon did his report, which we launched some time ago, the big concern was the length of time people were spending in direct provision. The reality is that those numbers have dramatically decreased since the report was launched. There are very few people left in the system who have been here longer than the five-year mark, for example, except those who are taking judicial reviews. Therefore, the vast majority of these situations have been dealt with, and the new people arriving will now have their statuses dealt with in a far faster way, so we will not have the issue of people being here for long periods without their applications being processed and final decisions made. That is very important. The situation has changed. I put the figures into the public arena at a conference last week. The changes to the length of time people are spending in direct provision are very dramatic. Regarding the point the Deputy made about these young people, what is important is that they get their applications cleared quickly. Once they are refugees, of course they can work. They are not ghosts. They can be part of ordinary society. However, there are transitional points. We need to support the organisations working with these people and we are increasing the support we are giving to those organisations.

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