Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill and the moves to resolve many of the issues outlined.

I will deal first with the issue of the Stardust inquest and the coroner’s court. The Stardust tragedy happened 41 years ago when 48 people went for a night out and did not come home. It has influenced and impacted not just the people of Artane and that part of Dublin but the whole country. I remember that Saturday morning. A television programme was on, the exact name of which I forget but Aonghus McAnally used to be on it. I think it was called "Anything Goes". As children we used to get up early on a Saturday morning to watch television and there was then a newsflash in the middle of the programme. This terrible horror that had happened was reported. It had a huge effect on people because there is a sense of injustice surrounding it as it was never properly dealt with. There were several inquests and other things were done but there is a strong feeling throughout the nation that there was an injustice and the tragedy was never dealt with properly. I welcome the advances that have been proposed in the Bill.

The coroner's courts are a problem that needs to be dealt with in a broader way, particularly the issue of juries. While the best approach is probably taken in Dublin, it is dealt with in a more slipshod manner in many other areas. I know there are proposals to deal with the issue. The specific proposal in the Bill for selecting jurors for the Stardust inquest is progress and a way forward, and has been welcomed by the families. They feel, at last, that something is happening. It is vital that we all ensure the families do not feel at the end of this process, again, that it has not been done properly or there is anything they could question.

I will add one caveat related to the selection of the juries. In civil and criminal cases, there is an opportunity to reject a certain number of jurors. I ask that the Minister of State clarify whether that is the case in this particular inquest. It would be appropriate to provide for that. My colleagues will also speak on the Stardust issue.

Other issues have been raised regarding the thousands of people from Ukraine who have come here. In most cases, they have enhanced our communities and have been very welcomed. In my community, the local parochial house has been 14 years without a priest. We got a bit of inspiration and turned it into a family home. Last week, a family from Ukraine drove from near Kharkiv all the way across Europe to Rosslare and then up through the country. They arrived in the parochial house where they are being looked after. Relatives may join them later on. They have children in the house which is a great thing. We had a three-teacher school in the parish but it is now a two-teacher school. In another ten years, if we do not families, there will be no school. We were delighted to see children coming. That is the case in many rural areas. We need to see new people coming and we welcome that.

There are, however, pressures in other areas which have overcrowded schools and problems with healthcare. I raised this matter with the Minister previously and it needs to be dealt with, particularly where large numbers of Ukrainians are staying in hotels. Many of these people have medical issues and problems and there are no GPs in many parts of the country to deal with those kinds of issues.

The proposed €400 payment is welcome. I note it will be backdated to March. I assume there will be some process to backdate it and that people looking for this money will have to provide some evidence of when the family arrived and so on. The process involved in that regard needs to be made clear.

Many of the people from Ukraine staying in hotels are receiving social welfare and are being very well looked after. We have to avoid creating a different category of asylum seeker, refugee or person seeking international support and protection. We have people from Ukraine who have fled a war staying in hotels, receiving social welfare payments and being well looked after, while people coming from another part of the world who are in similar situations are not getting exactly the same treatment. That is an issue that needs to be dealt with.

I know there are moves afoot to sort out the whole issue of direct provision and the problems associated with it. The situation has improved but there is still a fair distance to go, as I am sure the Minister will acknowledge. The problems we need to address also involve ensuring there is no conflict and no sense among communities that people are getting things they do not deserve or receiving attention that others do not receive. All public representatives are being contacted people saying they cannot get a medical card, yet somebody from Ukraine can get one straightaway. This type of thing creates an issue. I know this is about entitlements and that people working here face certain income barriers, etc. That said, we need to be cautious that we do not create splits or divisions in our society and communities. That is important.

The vast majority of people who are coming are looking for work. Many of them want to drive trucks and I have come across some of them in my area. They have issues with licences and so forth. Our laws around that are strict because we must be conscious of road safety. We also need to ensure that when people come here, from whatever part of the world, and want to use their driving licence to drive articulated trucks and heavy goods vehicles, they are competent to do so. I am not sure if such a measure is in the Bill but the issue needs to be covered somewhere. Perhaps the regulations will include measures to ensure people the competency their driver licence suggests they have.

The availability of childcare is a problem for everyone in Ireland but particularly for people who come here as asylum seekers and refugees. We need to put in place provisions to provide for them and I am glad there is a move to do that in the Bill.

Overall, as I believe others will acknowledge, it is not good policy to bring forward Bills that have a little bit of everything in them. However, we understand this is an emergency and we are almost at the end of the Dáil term. In the long run, however, we need to see proper legislation laid down to deal with these issues as we move forward. This particular legislation does that and is beneficial in that respect.

The Stardust inquest is probably the issue in the Bill to which most people will pay attention. The clear reason for that is the injustice attached to the Stardust case.

The issues are clear. Sinn Féin supports the Bill and wants it to work but we need some assurance regarding the few small points I raised.

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