Results 1-20 of 150 for "direct provision" speaker:Trevor Ó Clochartaigh

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2018)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...na Gaeilge ag tosaí an tseachtain seo chugainn so I would hope people would follow in the footsteps and try to use as much Irish as they can for seachtain na Gaeilge. You never know when my replacement is to be nominated. Members might think of persuading their party leaders to nominate somebody who might have cúpla focail as well to take up the mantle of the Irish language and...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: .... Sometimes one can wonder if we do anything of value in these Houses. In the past, Senator Mac Lochlainn was the Chairman of Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions. As part of its work, the committee wrote a report on direct provision. One of its recommendations was that the Ombudsman be given oversight of the direct provision system. I welcome yesterday's report from...

Seanad: Reception Conditions Directive: Motion (23 Jan 2018)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Aontaíom le cuid mhaith a bhfuil ráite ag na Seanadóirí eile roimh mé. This really is a heartless and cynical move by the Department of Justice and Equality. We held a direct provision protest in Galway on Saturday. Several brave people who are in direct provision and who are afraid to speak out normally, spoke out publicly. They told us again of their plight...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Nov 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...; as sin. He is certainly a scholar, but I am not so sure that he is a saint, nor that he would want to be one. Certainly, this House has been very much enriched by his presence. We have had slight differences of opinion on matters such as direct provision but we have always been working towards the same goal. The Senator has always stood up for those who need somebody to stand up for...

Seanad: International Protection (Family Reunification) (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...to be an issue coming down the line and it was not going to be acceptable. I am not going to go into great depth. It is very important that Fianna Fáil is now supporting the Bill. That is really welcome. I will again put on the record that direct provision is an appalling system. I do not think it is acceptable. It is institutional abuse in itself. I can appreciate that...

Seanad: Eighth Report of Convention on the Constitution: Motion (11 Oct 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: .... That is why I would like to hear from witnesses acting on behalf of groups such as the disabled, single parents and children growing up in poverty. Some of the biggest critics of the budgetary decisions that were made yesterday were people who represent people with a disability, and dealt with issues around housing, lone and single parents, etc. Let us consider economic rights. People...

Seanad: Direct Provision: Statements (4 Oct 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...Aire. Ní hé inniu an céad lá a labhraimid le chéile faoin ábhar seo. We have crossed swords on this issue on many occasions and we will do so again today. I will state clearly where I stand on direct provision. I see it as a form of institutionalised abuse and a State-sponsored model of incarceration. It needs to be scrapped and, notwithstanding the...

Seanad: Direct Provision: Statements (4 Oct 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: For the past six years, when Fianna Fáil has been asked to condemn the direct provision system, it has not done so. I would like to be constructive because we need to work together to get this system scrapped and I welcome the change in tone. An injustice has been done to Mr. Justice McMahon. The terms of reference for his report were limited. They precluded an examination to...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ..., with a particular focus on the development and use of family hubs, absolutely alarming. For a member of Fianna Fáil to have the audacity to condemn IHREC, when it was Fianna Fáil that designed and implemented the direct provision system, a system of therapeutic incarceration, is quite astounding.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: That system needs to be dismantled. It is very worrying that this new system is being compared to direct provision. This morning's presentation by Dr. Rory Hearne and Dr. Mary Murphy of Maynooth University on their report, Investing in the Right to a Home: Housing, HAPs and Hubs, was very important. Whenever we raise housing issues in this House we are told of certain initiatives brought...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Direct Provision System (27 Jun 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...a athcheapachán mar Aire. I congratulate the Minister on his reappointment as a Minister. I thank him for coming in to take this question, which arises out of the case of a Burmese man who spent eight years in direct provision before getting refugee status. He unanimously won his Supreme Court appeal over laws preventing him working in Ireland before his status was decided. The...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 May 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...on the right to work of people seeking asylum. We need to get real about the issue of asylum. We also need to look at the right of people in that system to education. We certainly need to look at scrapping direct provision and I want to see us debate that again as soon as possible. I wish to raise a very distressing issue this morning. It is in respect of lives being put at risk in...

Seanad: Migrant Integration Strategy: Statements (16 May 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...xe9;anta acu. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House.There has been a little bit of political light-footedness on this issue. We were actually calling for a debate around the International Protection Act 2015, its implementation and direct provision. Certainly, the integration strategy is very welcome. It is a very laudable strategy and I welcome it. There are some...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Mar 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...this issue. I would also be grateful if the Leader updated me on an urgent issue I raised last week related to implementation of the International Protection Act 2015, the questionnaires being circulated and the issues connected with the direct provision system. The Leader indicated that the Minister of State, Deputy David Stanton, would come to the House to discuss the issue. It needs...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...rights as soon as possible and to look for the speedy passage of that legislation. I would like to invite Senators to a briefing we have at 6 p.m. in the AV Room on the implementation of the International Protection Act and the ongoing situation in direct provision centres. There is a very serious situation there at the moment causing difficulties for people who are seeking asylum. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Education (Amendment) Bill 2015 and General Scheme of Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016: Discussion (7 Mar 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...ombudsman. At this stage I would not be sold on that debate, to be quite honest. That is because there are certain areas that the children's ombudsman has been critical of, for example, including direct provision and children in that system who are trying to access third-level education. Therefore we should also examine that report, as it would give us an insight into another facet of...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Ba maith liom tacú leis an moladh atá deanta go mbeabh díospóireacht againn maidir le tefigh in Éirina go háirithe sa chóras so láthar díreach. I support the calls for a debate on the direct provision system. I do not believe the system has improved at all since the Mahon report; in fact, things may have gone backwards. Some the changes have...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Feb 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...in Ireland received newly published 60 page questionnaires, to be completed and returned to INIS within three weeks. It was 60 pages long, and there was a 30 page guidance booklet, ostensibly to help fill out the 60 page form. There is a shameful pall of stress and tension hanging over every direct provision reception centre at the moment, Mr. O'Kelly tells us. People try to find a...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2017)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...of people who come from different backgrounds, religions and countries and so forth should lead us to point to the finger at ourselves and ask how we are treating both migrants and those seeking asylum in this country. We still have the absolute scandal of a direct provision system in this country which should be dismantled, and I would certainly welcome a debate on that issue. On the...

Seanad: Action Plan for Housing: Statements (20 Jul 2016)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...to settle Travellers into social housing. There must be an approach that is cognisant of the specific needs of the Traveller community. This morning, I attended the launch of a report on people in direct provision and how they are trying to transition into social housing and they also have highly specific difficulties that must be addressed. I have concerns that there appears to be a...