Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the point made there by Deputy Carroll-MacNeill and the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, will be very happy if someone does not want HAP, if they can provide for themselves. We have always made provision where some people here are seeking international protection but do not enter direct provision because they are in a situation where they can provide for themselves. There is flexibility, yes, but there is a key issue about people being treated similarly to Irish nationals also, and that there is no distinction in treatment. That is also important in respect of the credibility of the overall system. I thank the Deputy for the point, nonetheless.

In respect of the Deputy Connolly’s point, I will follow up on the specific issue on the gap between reports as I am unsure what the answer to that is at this time.

The Deputy is completely correct in reflecting the failures to deliver on improvements on direct provision in the past and that is why it is so important for transparency. The reports of the independent advisory group, therefore, will be made public. The group members were very clear to me that they wanted to see themselves as having this independent oversight, that there was no element of window-dressing and that these are people who want to be engaged in this process. They all have a stake in this and have shown that from their track record. Their reports, be they positive or critical, will be independently available.

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