Results 121-140 of 150 for "direct provision" speaker:Trevor Ó Clochartaigh

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2013)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...vulnerable people. I agree with those statements in regard to the farming community and certainly their help is needed. Another example of that, which we have raised on a number of occasions, is the direct provision system. There are still approximately 6,000 people in 43 hostels across the country. One third of those in direct provision are children and many of the families are in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Mar 2013)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...extend an invitation to him this week. If he has time on his hands and is interested in improving his Irish, he will be welcome in Connemara any time. I support Senator van Turnhout's call on direct provision. I have visited some of the centres. This serious and complex issue has been raised a number of times on the Adjournment. The letter in today's edition of The Irish Times puts...

Seanad: Magdalen Laundries Report: Statements (27 Feb 2013)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...would like to make a few other remarks as I may not get an opportunity to do so next week. I concur with what has been said previously, particularly with Senator van Turnhout's remarks in regard to direct provision. Last week, I commended the Taoiseach on making the State apology. It is hoped that there will not be a need for a future Taoiseach to make a State apology on behalf of...

Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...the Government cuts agenda and has shown little regard for the community in that context and, therefore, we have no choice but to support the motion of no confidence. I wish to mention the issue of direct provision which I have mentioned on many occasions in the House. In opposition the Minister promised to review and dismantle the system of direct provision because it is an inhuman and...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2013)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...is welcome. However, on numerous occasions during my two years as a Member of this House I have outlined my hope a similar apology will not be required from a future Taoiseach in respect of the direct provision system. I have grave concerns about the system of direct provision and I am of the opinion that it must be reviewed. Coverage in the press this morning indicates that some ¤655...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Asylum Seeker Accommodation (14 Feb 2013)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Tá mé thar bheith buíoch gur tháinig sé isteach chun an cheist seo a phlé. The matter relates to the direct provision system and the accommodation provided through the Department of Justice and Equality for people seeking refugee status. Throughout the State, hotels, hostels, caravan parks and so on are used to house people in this position and...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: I welcome the amendment. As the Minister is well aware, I and many other Senators have been lobbying on the issue of direct provision for some time. We have aired serious concerns about how the direct provision model is working and what could potentially be taking place in direct provision centres. The anomaly with these centres is that they are part of a private service operated on behalf...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: I move amendment No. 11: In page 31, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following:?(e) a direct provision accommodation centre.?.

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...which is carried on by a person in relation to persons,and in particular children and other categories of vulnerable persons within the meaning of this part, who are currently accommodated in a direct provision accommodation centre.?.

Seanad: Business of Seanad (12 Dec 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: No. While I appreciate the Leader is allocating additional time, a number of quite complex amendments are to be discussed and I refer specifically to the areas of direct provision. I suggest that Report Stage might possibly be left to a different time to enable Members to try to get through all the Committee Stage amendments. This debate has been highly constructive and these proceedings...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Refugee Accommodation (28 Nov 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Táim thar a bheith buíoch de as teacht isteach chun an cheist seo a fhreagairt. The Minister of State may be aware that I have raised the direct provision model on a number of occasions. This is an issue of major concern to me. It not appropriate for the long-term housing of refugees seeking asylum in the State. There are major issues concerning the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Refugee Accommodation (28 Nov 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Yes. I thank the Minister for his reply. I have read the value for money report but it does not say much about the human element, which is sadly lacking in the direct provision system. The Minister of State stated that residents receive a weekly direct provision allowance of ¤19.10 per adults. I have a receipt from one of the asylum seekers of his payment from the Department of Social...

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Second Stage (27 Nov 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...abuse is now in the past, which is a cause for great relief. It would, however, be naive to think the reality of children being at risk is all in the past. I think, in particular, of our system of direct provision. The Minister of State will be familiar with the difficulties I have with this system. I have expressed reservations about it in the past. It is an inhuman way of treating...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Oct 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...Ombudsman were given the choice, she would have these agencies included in the legislation and it is remiss of us not to include them at this stage. I have referred to the prisons but it applies to direct provision scenarios as well. I have said it before but I will say it again, a State scandal is happening on our watch and we must do something about it.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...recent weeks for a debate on suicide. I am very disturbed because I have spoken this morning to a man who has told me he is suicidal. The reason is that he is an asylum seeker in Lisbrook House, a direct provision hostel in Galway, and a decision was taken yesterday to close the centre. I do not doubt that he is genuinely morose. The Lisbrook centre is part of a broader direct...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Discussion with the Ombudsman (10 Oct 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...agencies that will be under the remit of the Ombudsman but I wish to focus my comments on the areas over which jurisdiction is not being given. I was forthright in the Seanad in arguing that people in direct provision and those who come under the auspices of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, the Reception and Integration Agency and the Prison Service should be included...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...is to oversee and have that independent viewpoint. I am concerned at the speed at which the other legislation will come through and how quickly those agencies would be set up. I have visited a direct provision centre in Galway. It is a difficult situation for the people there. In opposition, the Minister was critical of the direct provision model and it was to be scrapped within six...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...of the State have failed to address. The legislation on naturalisation has been a long time coming and while I have been critical of policies pursued by the previous Administration in respect of direct provision, these policies are still in place and they need to be addressed immediately. We are discussing an agency which does not yet exist. The Refugee and Integration Agency and the...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: ...in the way she sought in her critique of the Bill in 2008. I contend that this is one of the areas that we most need to allow her to have jurisdiction over. I have raised the issue of the Lisbrook direct provision centre in Galway on a number of occasions in this House in the past two weeks, which was in danger of being closed. I also highlighted the Irish Refugee Council's recent...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: I am doing so. The authors of the report claim that the sustained and prolonged restriction of human rights and civil liberties inherent in the direct provision system amount to child abuse. These are very serious allegations based on numerous complaints. The Ombudsman has said that the people who made those types of complaints, which have been catalogued by the Irish Refugee Council,...