Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I seek time for a debate on the situation regarding the International Protection Accommodation Service, IPAS, monthly statistics for new arrivals to this country in October. I looked for this at the Business Committee last week. The figures are quite startling. Some 69% or 500 are males. Of the 1,500 people who arrived in October, only 13% are females and a staggering only 5% are couples. We need to have a real debate here unless we have become a complete echo chamber. We had it at a meeting in Cashel, at the weekend in Killarney and in Wicklow, the Minister's own county, where 900 people were being put into a hamlet without even a shop. We have this all over the country and people are excited, upset and worried. I want a reasonable, calm and reflective debate on where we are going here. We have soundbites from the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, who do not bother turning up anymore for Leader's Questions. They are more interested in Europe and getting jobs there it looks like.

See this speech in context