Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I pay tribute to United Against Racism and the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland - I know Mr. Memet Uludağ and Mr. Lucky Khambule and others are in the Visitors Gallery - for their efforts in bringing about this debate and in pressing the motion which has been signed by 37 Deputies. I think it is a matter of vital importance.

The Taoiseach was praised and praised himself lavishly for his comments in Washington about immigrants, both Irish immigrants and immigrants generally, and how he was a champion of immigrants. It is a little ironic, is it not, that he could do that and indeed at points imply criticism of the outrageous policies of US President Donald Trump vis-à-visimmigrants and asylum seekers in the United States and continue to stand over a degrading, inhumane, cruel system of direct provision, which is guilty of child neglect and abuse if nothing else. It is guilty of many other things too. The treatment of children living for years in this system of direct provision is a scandal beyond scandals. It is not an exaggeration to say that allowing this to persist is on a par with industrial schools and the Magdalen laundries. Tinkering around and reforms, while they may improve things marginally, are just not good enough.

The key here is the issue of right to work that has already been alluded to. Nobody doubts that there is a housing emergency. We believe it can be solved, and with the right policies, everybody in direct provision and on our housing lists can be housed. A real move away from direct provision will not happen overnight, although a lot more could be done on it quickly if there was a change in policy, but the right to work is critical. It is unacceptable that people are expected to live on €19 a week, are imprisoned in these direct provision centres, not allowed to work, and are treated as second-class citizens. They are treated as a sort of subhuman group in the same way as those who were slaves in the Magdalen laundries or who were prisoners in the industrial schools were treated. All the crocodile tears or shame and regret about the Magdalen laundries and industrial schools can only be viewed as hypocrisy if the Government does not move to get rid of the system of direct provision and allow the people in that system - asylum seekers coming to this country who are here for any substantial period - the right to work and consequently integrate into society and be treated the same as other human beings who happen to be citizens of this country. I appeal to the Minister of State and Government to do this and they will have done something important and historic in allowing asylum seekers the right to work and to be treated as dignified human beings.

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