Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to support Senator Norris's Bill and thank him for bringing it forward. When I first met him when I came in here, he was very exercised about it and was determined to bring it forward early in the session, which is welcome. His legislation has touched on some really important issues.

We need to be clear about what is meant by direct provision. It is a means of meeting the basic needs of food and shelter for asylum seekers while their claims for refugee status are being processed rather than providing cash payments. The system was introduced in April 2000. In 2014, asylum seekers were not entitled to any form of social welfare or social assistance except for the direct provision system. In 2014, a former Supreme Court judge, Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, predicted that the State's treatment of asylum seekers would be the subject of a future Government apology. They were very profound words from Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness.

Senator Norris touched on the fact that Mr. Justice Bryan McMahon completed a comprehensive report on the subject in 2015, which outlined his primary concerns and identified serious issues that needed to be addressed. Mr. Justice McMahon, in his report, recommended that no person should be in the system for longer than five years. We know that there are people in the system for well in excess of five years, which is unacceptable. Senator Norris has touched on this subject.

Clearly, there is a need for change. Mr. Justice McMahon's report in June 2015 touched on a whole range of issues and objectives and asked that they would be addressed. There are in the region of 3,500 asylum seekers who have been living in direct provision for more than five years. In 2016, the Department of Justice and Equality stated that 91 of the recommendations of the report had been implemented in full, 49 had been partially implemented and 33 were marked as needing further consideration. In April 2016, ten months on from the launch of the report, Mr. Justice McMahon said that the implementation of key recommendations had been slow to be implemented and inadequately resourced. Clearly, there are issues.

I have received feedback from people who live in these centres. They talk about uncertainty and a lack of autonomy over the most basic aspects of their lives. They also talk about the challenges of sharing with strangers and of having many children in the one centre. They are concerned about the safety of their children and partners. All of these are very challenging issues. Every parent knows how he or she guides and monitors his or her own children in one's own environment and community. The people in these centres want to feel safe and free from exploitation. Many other issues affect people who live in direct provision centres, including the challenge of family life. This is the reality. Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness is right that this State will look back on these centres in the same way it had to look back on the institutional care of children in this State where it abandoned all responsibility. A redress scheme has since been set up in this State but it is too late. Saying sorry is no good, redress is no good and compensation is no good if the damage has been done. We have responsibilities.The most important word that stood out for me was "isolation", people who feel isolated and vulnerable. While I take on board what Senator Norris said about four to five years, initially people want to have this addressed. There is no point in the State commissioning reports and judges chairing groups and coming back with recommendations and not implementing them. I will support the Bill. There will be amendments further on but it is worth pursuing. There are many valid reasons to do so and the State is failing these people.

I am not 100% sure about an amnesty now but I am not saying it should be ruled out in the future. Anyone waiting over five or six years has to be a priority and the Government needs to give those people priority. I hope the Minister of State will say what he envisages. The negative impact on anybody’s physical, emotional and mental health is important. It is a question of human dignity, respect and rights. That is the core of this Bill, that people have rights to their dignity, to their own self, to a feeling of their own empowerment and they need to be aided and supported in the State. The Senator is talking about a humanitarian response, which is the really important issue. Wherever these people are, wherever they have come from and are going, they must be afforded dignity and humanity. That is the core of what the Senator is trying to achieve and he has my full support.