Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Senator is right to urge caution in the commentary on the very difficult and traumatic cases of the two Roma children. We all welcome the fact that they were returned to their families and that in the end there were no grounds for the concern that was raised by the Garda. However, the two cases have raised very serious questions. It was good to be in the Chamber last night when the Minister, Deputy Shatter, gave his response to the news that the children had been returned. He spoke in very measured and appropriate language. He took the appropriate action immediately and ordered inquiries into how the situations arose. His words were carefully chosen yet adequately expressed the concerns felt by all of us, particularly parents, at the way events have unfolded over the past couple of days. One must also respect the statements by the families seeking privacy. A measured response is appropriate but I welcome the inquiries into the actions of the Garda.

I welcome last night's debate on direct provision, for which the Minister, Deputy Shatter, was present throughout. It was a model of the type of debate that we do so well in the Seanad. It was a well-crafted motion put together by Senator van Turnhout and her colleagues, on which there was no division. We all agree that the way forward is to be constructive and to examine constructively how best to reform direct provision in order to ensure we do not see lengthy delays in the processing of applications and people left in direct provision hostels for long periods.

On today's Order Paper a motion, without debate, has been tabled on the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. The committee debated the proposal at length over a couple of meetings and took the decision that the proposal had a potential to breach the principle of subsidiarity. We have issued a reasoned opinion to that effect which formed the substance of the motion.

It is a good example of the technical and often time-consuming scrutiny the committees carry out on EU matters. That is the type of scrutiny in which legislators must engage.

I ask the Leader for a debate on surveillance in light of the concerns that Chancellor Merkel has raised that her private mobile telephone was apparently being tapped by US authorities. I note the response from the US Government did not deny that her telephone had been tapped in the past. It raises very serious concerns about levels of surveillance on European Union citizens.