Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I must respond because, while Members have heard many expressions of sympathy, the time for sympathy is over and the time for action is now. It is a little disingenuous to state that there are people within the system who might be abused or whatever in work scenarios. What the right to work confers literally is a right to work. It does not confer a job or force people into employment, and it does not take away a job from anybody else. It simply means the person who is seeking asylum has the right to compete for a job in the same way as anybody else. This is an absolutely fundamental international human right that is being denied to asylum seekers in this country. Moreover, we have been denying it for a long time, since long before the present Administration came to office. It is a fundamental bedrock of international human rights that must be put in place. We are way out of kilter with the rest of Europe and best international practice on this issue. The Minister of State is aware of this, and when one can see that very little has been acted upon until now, promises of what might be done in the future do not cut it with people who are in the asylum system. This right to work should be there now. There is no reason it cannot be included in this Bill and it should be included as a matter of urgency.