John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

Yes. The changes are minimal which leads us to the contentious area, paragraph 6 of the First Schedule:

Profound mental disturbance, that is to say, manifest conditions of psychotic disturbance with agitation, delirium, hallucinations or confusion.

There must be a provision that allows people at the ports to deal with those who are violent or pose a threat to themselves or others by virtue of severe disturbance. Those words strike a reasonable balance. They are not, and will not be used as, an arbitrary device to keep people out of the country. The general line of all the arguments against this Bill seems to have been that its provisions will be used as an arbitrary system for keeping people out of the country. I cannot see how the practice will change from last week, or the week before or several weeks before that. If the Minister of State tells me it will change I would be interested, but I do not expect him to say it.

Thankfully, we are a considerable distance from the time flags flew on the masts of ships indicating "Plague — keep away". I have a certain sympathy for the point of view of Schizophrenia Ireland, which is not appalled but makes some reasonable points. It refers to the common position adopted by the European Union with regard to the removal of a reference to disabilities as being logical because only diseases may justify a measure restricting freedom of movement. "Disabilities" has been removed. One cannot have a situation where one exempts everybody who comes into the country, including some who may be violent and may pose a threat to himself or herself, or to other people. This cannot be omitted from the Bill and we have to trust the discretion and good judgment of the people who are at the ports to ensure that they will act humanely and properly, as they always do.

I am sure that like me many Members have visited Ellis Island in New York and seen the humiliation and fear that people, many of them Irish, had to endure when they entered the United States in the early part of the 20th century. We should never return to a system like that and modern society would not tolerate it if we tried. What has been done in the Dáil is sensible, balanced, right and should be supported.