Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)

Can I put on the record of the Dáil that I have sent an email to the leaders of all political parties to ask them to sign a Bill that would look for voting rights for Irish citizens in the North of Ireland? It is an issue bigger than any political party and we should not put party first in relation to it.

We received a parliamentary reply showing Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Ministers have quashed or overturned 4,000 deportation orders in the past ten years. The number of deportation orders quashed or overturned is a multiple of those enforced. Most want a fair system but a strict one nonetheless. We currently have a system where people can apply for asylum and it can take many years for a decision to be made. They can appeal that and it can take some time for the appeal to be made. They can then take a judicial review, which can take some time. On certain occasions, they can go back into the asylum process even after that judicial review. Most deportation orders issued are not enforced. It is a voluntary system. We have no checks at airports to see if they are leaving the country or not. Even after that whole process, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Ministers have overturned 4,000 deportation orders. That is incredible, given the cost just to process those deportation orders.

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