Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)

It is day 47 and four people are outside the House, as has been previously stated. Their requests are not huge. They are getting conflicting information. Sometimes agreements are made, then it is changing and it is back again. This is causing trust issues. When agreements are not written down, they can change. They need to be written down.

Yesterday, they were very happy with the meeting with the mediator. The difficulty is the mediator is not available until next week. That leaves another week. We are now on day 47 so we will be up to the mid-50s at that stage. They are steadfast in their hunger strike and will not stop until it is in writing. I am incredulous that this is taking so long. I know the Tánaiste is trying his best but I want him to try harder. Where is the humanity? These people were wronged in childhood and are being wronged now in adulthood. Can this be put in writing by the end of this week so these people do not have to go into another weekend, staying outside in the cold and starving?

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