Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I formally second the amendment. In six weeks' time this country, and indeed the world, will celebrate the history and the story of a very famous undocumented migrant called St. Patrick. On that day and in that week it is imperative on us in this House and to anybody with an Irish background to tell the real story of Ireland, that being one of emigration and an understanding of coffin ships, sectarian hatred, seeking refuge, violence and terrorism.It is extremely important, while the eyes of the world are on us, that we take a stand on that day and in that week and tell the real story of Ireland. In these very uncertain times, particularly following the executive orders produced by the Trump regime, the number of people with Irish-American names who surround the man is remarkable. I can think of names like Conway, Kelly, Bannon, Spicer and Pence. They want to give a certain view of the Irish-American experience. It is important that Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas and Irish people across the world take a stand on St. Patrick's Day and in that week. We must remind the world that we know intimately what it is like to leave this country, what it meant to be on a coffin ship and takes to overcome sectarian hatred, deal with terrorism and division and seek peace. We must take stock of the experience in our own country.

I make reference to the recent goings on in Ballaghaderreen when local representatives were shown up completely by local people when asked to accept 80 Syrian refugees into their own community. I pay tribute to Mary Gallagher who I believe owns a small shop in Ballaghaderreen. When asked by RTE how she felt about the situation, she asked how, when one saw children being picked out of clay, could one say no. However, political representatives in that part of the world were slow in being as welcoming as she was. We in this House have a responsibility to work on a cross-party basis to ensure we will implement the recommendations made in the McMahon report on direct provision. We now have an opportunity to sort out our own house. We can say to the rest of the world that we are an emigrant nation, that we understand intimately the needs of emigrants across the world and that we will not allow the Irish story to be hijacked by the right-wing white national viewpoint of those who surround President Trump.

Senator Robbie Gallagher:I refer to the domiciliary care allowance and the high number of appeals that arise from applications made to the Department of Social Protection. As Senators will know, the domiciliary care allowance is about €309 per month and paid to the carer of a child under 16 years of age with a severe disability. He or she must be living at home and require full-time care and attention, over and above the care and attention normally required by a child of that age. I am disturbed by the high number of appeals. In some cases applicants have been forced to pursue the matter through the courts to get justice. The Department has released figures for 2016 that show there were approximately 7,434 applications and that 1,344 appeals were lodged. The most startling figure was that of the 1,344 appeals lodged, as many as 1,065 were successful. That shows clearly that there is an issue with how applications are determined. Another issue worth considering is the time taken to process an application. It takes approximately 14 weeks for a decision to be made on an initial application. The hearing of an appeal takes up to 30 weeks. The figures clearly show that there is something wrong with how the Department considers applications and appeals. I urge the Leader to ask the Minister for Social Protection to consider the matter and put a mechanism in place to inform the carers of children in this category at an early stage about their entitlements.