Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Nuair a bhí comhrá fada agam le Jody inné, chuir mé in iúl di an méid measa atá agam uirthi. I wish to be associated with all the words of good wishes to Jody. We had a great chat yesterday between Adjournment matters. I expressed to her my considerable pride having worked with her and my sense of gratitude on our behalf being a smaller grouping in the Seanad. One thing Jody always did was look out for the Independents and smaller groupings as well as the big parties, such that everyone got a fair crack of the whip. It is fair to say is bean uasal amach is amach í Jody. She is a quintessential lady and she will be sorely missed. I, for one, am certainly looking forward to her memoirs once she has left. I imagine they will be a fantastic read and I hope that they make the bestseller list.
I join with the statements made by Senator Conway and Senator van Turnhout this morning around the issue of direct provision. It is an appalling situation that these people find themselves in. Today is the anniversary of the setting up of direct provision. I note that the humanrights.iewebsite is hosting a blog carnival on direct provision with input from many different people. I encourage people to have a look at that.
Several Senators have been doing work quietly in the background on the issue simply to educate ourselves on direct provision. We have a cross-party Seanad group on the issue which includes Senators van Turnhout, Conway, Moran, Power, Zappone and Barrett. We have decided to mark the anniversary today by trying to open up the group as an Oireachtas cross-party group and organise some presentations and information sharing on the issue and try to educate ourselves even more.
A related issue concerns a group who find themselves similarly marginalised, namely, the Roma community. I noted yesterday that I was appalled by some recent journalistic pieces on the Traveller community. This morning Pavee Point launched three reports on the Roma community in Ireland and the situation they find themselves in. The reports include an examination of the Roma community from an international aspect, particularly across Europe. It would be good to debate the situation that the Roma community find itself in from a health perspective, an integration perspective, etc. Some of the findings of the reports would certainly alarm people in respect of the situation they find themselves in. A debate around the Roma community, their situation, how we can help to support them, how we can ensure they make the best of their lives in Ireland, how they become fully integrated and how they share with us their great wealth of knowledge, music and culture would be a good thing.