Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank People Before Profit for putting this matter on the agenda today. I will reflect on my experience as a Deputy in Clondalkin. Clondalkin Towers, one of the largest direct provision centres, is in the constituency. Like many politicians, we work very closely with the residents at that location. Over the five or six years that I have been a public representative in the area, what has struck me most about direct provision is its purpose. Its purpose is to segregate people from the host community, to cut them off and make it more difficult for them to develop real relationships with the local community. That is probably one of the greatest shames of the system as it is designed. Other speakers have spoken about the cramped conditions, the inadequate eating and cooking facilities and the paltry payments that people receive. We all have stories of families who have been treated appallingly. There was one very prominent story a number of years ago of a family of two adults and three children in Clondalkin Towers. When the husband died after a prolonged illness, the family - adults and children - were expected to remain living in the same single bedroom. There is no justification that I can think of anywhere in the world that could support such a proposition. It is not just the length of time it is taking that is an issue, but the frustration with the process. People do not understand and are not being informed of what is happening at every stage.

I will not repeat the points people have made. Direct provision is a scandal. It is not a badly managed system. It is not a system that needs some tweaks and changes. It is a scandal. It is about time every politician in the House declared it a scandal and said it has to end. Then the conversation will change. It is not just about removing the rough edges, although Deputy Ó Laoghaire is right that it needs to happen, but replacing it completely with a system which allows people, very soon after they arrive, to live and work in communities while their applications are being processed. It is not just the right thing to do from a human rights point of view; it is the right thing to do for the taxpayer. The cost of direct provision versus the cost of an asylum applicant living in the local community is very clear to see. I put in freedom of information requests about Clondalkin Towers and was given information of the payments the State has made to that facility over six years. We are talking about €1.7 million being spent over seven years. On average, 233 adults and children are meant to be there throughout the course of the year.

In many cases, they are not there but the payment is still being made. This means that for a family of two adults and two children, for example, the cost of direct provision is €31,000, on average, per year. The equivalent cost for the same family on JSA and HAP is at least €10,000 per year cheaper. If people were allowed to work, particularly those with skills, the cost would be even less. Not only is this an appalling abuse of human rights, it is an appalling waste of taxpayer's money to the tune of millions of euro.

I wish to mention two other issues. The first is another scandal, namely, how the State treats people who have been granted leave to remain or their stamp 4. A total of 400 families who have the right to remain and work but who cannot get accommodation are trapped in direct provision. Those people are essentially homeless and direct provision has become their emergency accommodation. They are not getting jobseeker's allowance; they are still getting the reduced rate JSA, even though it is a JSA claim. They cannot save for a deposit. There are no additional supports for them to access private or public housing, let alone education or employment. I urge the Minister of State to consider the type of housing programme involved - he is looking at programme refugees, which I support - and making it available, with supports, to people transitioning out of direct provision.

While it is slightly off topic, the final issue I would like to raise is still relevant. There are 126,000 undocumented migrants in this State. Ministers and politicians from across the House were in the US recently calling on the US President to find a system for regularising undocumented Irish migrants in the US. We need to practice at home what we preach abroad. I acknowledge the Minister of State is examining this but I urge him to do here exactly what we want the US Administration to do and ensure that these 126,000 people have a process to regularise their status and have the security and safety they so rightly deserve.

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