Katherine Zappone (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, and congratulate him on his appointment. Like many others, I believe he can bring about change in this arena. I welcome the visitors. Their presence makes a difference to us. It also makes a difference to the debate and I believe it will make a difference to the impact of the debate. I thank the visitors for being present.

We are all aware of the fact that this is a very timely debate. I thank Senators Mullen and Bradford for tabling the motion. The issue is one that places people in an extremely vulnerable position. It has been the focus of the campaigns of many human rights groups and is causing great concern across the country.

I also want to acknowledge the leadership of Senators Ó Clochartaigh and van Turnhout on discussions on this issue, as well as that of other Members in the Seanad cross-party group on direct provision.

The Seanad held public consultation hearings on Ireland’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in May 2014. We heard then the devastating evidence from civil society groups working in this area. The Seanad submitted a report to the UN committee on human rights expressing our concern about the impact the system of direct provision is having on the physical and moral integrity of asylum seekers, as well as their right to private and family life, points about which other Members have already spoken eloquently.

Other Members have spoken about the failure of the State to put in place an independent appeals mechanism available to persons living in direct provision to ensure independent and transparent oversight. I welcome the fact the Government has appointed an independent working group that will review direct provision and the protection process soon.

I want to acknowledge the tremendous work of groups such as Nasc in Cork, Doras Luimní in Limerick, the Irish Refugee Council and the Immigrant Council of Ireland on the complex issues involved. They have highlighted the conditions for people in direct provision and particularly the children who are growing up in the centres. I concur with Senator Mullen’s recommendation of an amendment to the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 to ensure it is clear and indisputable that the Ombudsman for Children can scrutinise what happens in these centres and receive complaints concerning child welfare. I also concur with Senator van Turnhout’s recommendation for an independent complaints mechanism in this regard.

One point that is often forgotten, although Senator Power raised it earlier, is the placing of suspected victims of human trafficking in direct provision centres. That is simply wrong. It leaves some of the most vulnerable women in Ireland in great danger. In the case of suspected victims of trafficking, we are talking about women who are traumatised, who have often been tricked into coming into the country with false promises of a dream of a new life, job or marriage only to find out in a car park in Dublin Airport that they are destined to a life of threats, abuse and rape. The lucky few will at some stage manage to escape that abuse. However, far from meeting our international obligations to provide these trafficking victims with somewhere safe and secure, they are placed in the mixed accommodation of direct provision. This raises many serious concerns.

Immigration and asylum agencies such as the Immigrant Council of Ireland agree that the placing of victims of multiple rapes in mixed accommodation can add to the trauma women face and can place them in immediate danger of further abuse. Neither does the direct provision system place the victim beyond the reach of her abusers. She can be contacted and intimidated into withdrawing testimony to the Garda or even forced back into prostitution again. It is essential these victims, whose experience in many cases have triggered important criminal investigations, get the chance to reflect and recover in safe, private and secure accommodation, as well as being allowed to co-operate with the authorities without any fear associated with the role of witness.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland, together with its partners which provide sheltered housing, have made a submission to the Department of Justice and Equality to resolve some of the issues I have outlined and which will be made public in the coming days. The document sets out in detail how detected trafficking victims could avail of a range of accommodation types and a better guarantee of confidentiality and security, particularly in view of the stigmas associated with trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. Will the Minister of State ensure these proposals are considered by the independent group which will examine the direct provision system?