Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, as I know him as somebody who listens and pays attention. The arguments being made here are valid and Senator Norris has put significant work into this Bill. The argument has been made and I suggest we should accept the Bill on Second Stage. We can then correct any anomalies in it on a later Stage.
Some Members have argued that the Government never accepts amendments, but it does. The Protection of Children's Health from Tobacco Smoke Bill, which was sponsored by Senators Crown, van Turnhout and Daly was amended almost entirely on Committee Stage. We could do the same in the case of this Bill. This afternoon, three amendments put forward by Senator Barrett were accepted on the Vehicle Clamping Bill. There are plenty of examples of the Government accepting a Bill and then changing, adjusting and improving it on Committee Stage. That is what should happen in regard to this Bill today.
The argument we are making concerns direct provision for the number of people who come into this country seeking asylum and hoping to be able to work, but who are not allowed to work. I believe people should be allowed the basic right to live a normal life if they are still waiting after four years for their situation to be resolved. That is a reasonable case to make.
On the right to work, Ireland has been widely criticised internationally for not allowing asylum seekers to work. In the United Kingdom, Malta and Bulgaria, asylum seekers may work a year after their application has been lodged. In Poland, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium, the wait is six months. In Austria, asylum seekers only have to wait three months and in Sweden people can work the day after their application is lodged. This Bill's proposal that people must wait four years until they have the right to work if their case has not been resolved is, therefore, quite modest. We must come to some happy medium on this. If a person is willing to work, he or she should be given that chance. This Bill recognises that. If adjustments are required, let us ensure those adjustments are made.
As somebody who was in business for many years, I know the trauma people have faced. I remember a particular man who worked for me. He was a very good worker and told me he came from Portugal. When I visited Portugal, I sent him a card, but later I learned he was not from Portugal but from Russia or somewhere else. He had a family with him, but was not able to work without telling lies or without breaking the law. I believe there is no use in allowing talented and experience people be effectively locked-up and not allowed to contribute to society.
The business world can make a lot more of a contribution in this area. The input of organizations like IBEC and ISME could be very beneficial when considering the future of the asylum system here. Consider the fact that many asylum seekers have language skills - I assume practically all of them have - and the fact that we have a massive shortage of language skills in this country. Consider the opportunity to deal with this lack where an asylum seeker could, after four years, get into the workforce use their language skills in a business, perhaps in helping a business expand into a foreign country. We need to open up a dialogue with business organisations in this regard.
Can the Minister of State confirm that the Government will not in fact be considering the right to work in the upcoming review of the direct provision system? If that is the case, as someone with a business background I find it extremely regrettable. Last year, I visited the Google headquarters here and found it interesting to see the number of people walking around with microphones and earphones. I asked the Google boss what they were doing and he told me they were selling to different parts of the world. He explained that Google ensures that if it has a customer in eastern Stuttgart, somebody with an eastern Stuttgart accent will ring them. I understand that, because without bias, I know that if somebody from Donegal rings somebody in Cork, they may experience difficulty. The same might be true for Kerry also.