Dáil debates

Friday, 1 July 2022

Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to be in a position to debate the merits or demerits of the timing of this legislation openly with anybody in the House. It is very important legislation that needed to have been brought forward long before this. For that reason, we should attribute to it the importance it deserves.

I will deal with the issues one after the other. I remember the Stardust fire well. I remember meeting the relatives and friends. The time it has taken for them to get to the position we are now in has resulted in people passing away in the meantime. It has been a long, long time and, during that time, there was no way to assuage their concerns, their loneliness and the loss they had to suffer. I thank the Minister for bringing forward this legislation, along with all those involved in lobbying over the years.

With regard to the refugee system, like everybody else in this House, I have dealt with a fair number of refugees over the years. There were gaps in the system. I am happy to congratulate the Minister for addressing those issues in recent times. The only thing I am a little concerned about is that some of the gaps may continue. I have discussed this with the Minister and she is investigating the matter. It is possible that some people who made decisions some years ago may make the same decisions again, which will not advance the cause at all. One of my most challenging, worrying and embarrassing moments ever was when an older woman of African origin got down on her knees begging not to be returned to her own country. It was upsetting and appalling to see a person in that situation but she was in it, as were many others. Some have long since been deported. I again emphasise the position on deportees to the Minister. This was long before her time but I ask that particular attention be paid to those who may be due for deportation on the basis of a decision made 20 years ago. It is so far out as to be unbelievable. That will have to suffice because I cannot go into it in any more detail in the time available to me.

The other issue I will refer to is the welfare of children. It is very important that this legislation is before the House now because the various Departments need to work together on this. They are doing so, which is good to see. We need to pay careful attention to issues regarding the welfare of children, both domestically and on the immigration side. Very often, children who come before the courts find themselves in a vulnerable position even after the courts have reached a decision. That is not supposed to happen but it does. As a result, small children may be left in a very vulnerable position. Even in the past week, I have dealt with the case of a child who was already in the care of the courts. The child, who is nine years of age, tried to run away. There should not be this silo mentality whereby different Departments do not come together to address these kinds of situation in a more elaborate way. All Ministers need to be alert to the issues running parallel to their own responsibilities at any particular time. The Acting Chairman has considerable experience of the courts himself. While I am sure he cannot really agree with me, this is something that needs to be watched. The individual situations and the consequences of decisions, or the lack of decisions, need to be borne in mind at all times.

My next point again relates to asylum seekers, refugees and non-EU workers operating in this State. It is ironic that we have a labour shortage and have had such a shortage for a good number of years despite the ups and downs of the economy. It is sad to see that, in many cases, industries that required employees offered, for humanitarian reasons, employment to people who were not legally resident in the country and that now, 20 years later, many of these people are of pension age and do not qualify for a full pension because they do not have sufficient contributions. They do have the contributions but were not eligible for residency in the State at the time. It is an issue the Departments need to bear in mind. It can cause a great deal of hardship to individual families. The fact of the matter is that those people paid their taxes and complied with everything but did not have a right to residency. I ask that this be borne in mind.

My very last point again relates to children. I am not satisfied that children, especially small children, and vulnerable families receive the required level of urgency in their care and attention at all times. I recall several occasions of seeing really small children, in what was a strange country to them, not knowing where they were going or if they were ever going to receive any official status. Some of these were as young as two or three. I am talking about toddlers walking around with their parents or, very often, with one parent in the hope that this free country might be in a position to give those parents the kind of status they wanted.

I again congratulate the Minister for bringing forward many of these provisions to deal with issues that need to be dealt with. I also congratulate her colleagues who were here at the beginning of the discussion. I issue the warning that we need to be vigilant where kids and their welfare are concerned, even where they may be coming through, or have gone through, the courts.

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