Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The issue is that the Department is doing some good, of course, but in a bad way. Everyone wants to end direct provision as soon as possible. Moving families from congregated settings has to be a priority but must be done in co-ordination with the people involved. A key criticism of direct provision is the undignified way in which people are treated and the infantilising, condescending treatment from being denied the right to cook their own food to being moved around to centres at the whim of providers and officials. Parts of this are being replicated when we decide where people should be moved unilaterally without that engagement with them. As the Minister said, after they have had four months of integration into a community, they then could be moved to somewhere completely different. Families could have built up social networks, children are attending schools and the few who are permitted to work have professional connections. Simply to move these families to where accommodation has been found, to suit the Department but not necessarily the people themselves, is not the right approach. Can this policy be changed?

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