Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State's reply confirms my suspicions. What he has said is that those who are granted permission to stay have an automatic right to work. What about those who are waiting for permission to stay? Even if they have been here for only nine months, with every hungry belly there is a pair of hands and often a very good brain. Many of the people concerned are highly educated and well trained and have a lot to contribute to society. It appears that the Government is worried that an unfettered right to work for asylum seekers would have a huge impact on the Brexit negotiations, but I do not understand that argument. Just because a person has the right to work does not mean that he or she has the right to leave the country when he or she is seeking asylum here. All it says to me is that the Irish Government and the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, are scared stiff of asylum seekers and immigrants who are fleeing war, famine, persecution and dictatorships. It tallies very nicely with Theresa May's policies and the fortress Europe policy. That is what the Government is worried about. It is concerned about the impact on Brexit if it allows asylum seekers to use their labour and brains to make a difference and seek a better life in this country. That is both racist and wrong.

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