Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My party and I welcome the announcement of a more open process to allow asylum seekers to access work. It is important to say that, but it is three years after the McMahon report that included those recommendations. On the waiting time for the granting of asylum, I am glad that the Minister acknowledges that the period is too long and that he is working on it. Asylum seekers spend too long in a system that in 2000 was designed to be a very short interim provision. Some 36% of residents spend two years or more in the system which has been described as a form of internment. The delays in assessing applications are unacceptable and the long periods spent in the direct provision system have a negative impact on the mental health and well-being of residents. It impedes integration and creates a legacy of dependency. Is any other reform of the direct provision system being considered beyond the right to work?

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