Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I wish to raise the case of Olivia Agbonlahor, the Nigerian lady who was residing in The Lodge in Clonakilty and who was collected by gardaí from Bandon Garda station yesterday morning. The Minister has now intervened to halt her deportation. She and her journalist husband fled Nigeria because he wrote about the activities of local drug dealers. She sought refuge in this country. She has four-year old twins, Melissa and Great but Great is autistic. This State must reach out to that young boy who needs its help and support. In 2005 it should not be necessary to send the Garda Síochána into lodgings to grasp four-year old twins from the environment to which they have become accustomed. This is a disgrace. I acknowledge the intervention of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. I appeal to the Leader to ask the Minister to be guided by his heart and think of the welfare and health of a four-year old autistic boy in his consideration of this case.

On another matter, the current Garda recruitment campaign concludes today. It is the first Garda recruitment campaign open to non-nationals. I am perplexed that applicants must first be registered with publicjobs.ie in order to apply for the positions and would need access to a computer which may not always be possible. I verified today at 2 p.m. that an applicant must register with publicjobs.ie and must have access to a computer as hard copy applications will not be accepted. The current campaign has a clear objective of recruiting non-nationals but this procedure will prevent full advantage being taken of the recruitment process which is a concern given that we want to reach out to non-national communities.