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

I welcome what the Minister said. I will ensure that these issues are followed up. Ultimately, the pandemic may spike and subside here and in other countries, but if these are the conditions under which people are allowed to remain, then the deportation orders are like a sword of Damocles hanging over them. It is a tragedy and a pity. These are human beings who have a huge contribution to make to our society. In the end, this needs to be resolved outside the context of this Covid-19 crisis, because we do not want to lose valuable workers and people from our society and push them back to some place where they do not feel safe. That is a wider philosophical and long-term question, but it is important that we take it into account. If we are just relying on the conditions caused by the Covid-19 crisis for them to be allowed to remain, then this is still a very stressful factor in the lives of those concerned. What the Minister said, and said emphatically, is welcome but there is still a problem for these people in the long term.

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