Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Taoiseach the very best in retirement. We may not agree with him most of the time but we certainly, on a personal level, wish him the very best.

I have a question on promised legislation. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the ban on asylum seekers working is unconstitutional. It has suspended its order for six months to allow the Government and Oireachtas time to right this grave injustice. This constitutional crisis arises in the first instance because of section 9(4) of the Refugee Act 1996, which prohibited a person seeking asylum from entering employment before the final determination of his or her application. This Act was replaced by the International Protection Act 2015. It also prohibits asylum seekers from seeking or entering employment, or being employed or otherwise engaged in any gainful work or occupation. The direct provision system is a bad system that should have been scrapped a long time ago. It keeps thousands of people trapped in a process that is not dehumanising and degrading. It is also a costly system, on which Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have spent over €0.5 billion since 2009. An tUachtarán, Mr. Michael D. Higgins, has said the refusal to allow asylum seekers the right to work is heartbreaking and immoral. He is correct in saying that. Will the Taoiseach agree to discuss urgently with the Opposition parties emergency legislation that can be expedited in its passage through the Oireachtas?

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