Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I commend Senator Victor Boyhan for the way he spoke about the Tuam baby story. He spoke with great conviction and compassion. We have a lot to lament in the way we treated the living and now it seems our dead. Let us remember and learn from what happened. The lesson for us all in this and other cases has to be that every child deserves life, respect and, ultimately, love. That applies whether he or she is from the great or the small in our society, rich or poor or wanted. That will be the test of us as a modern society and it should apply regardless of whether a person is a citizen of the State. I ask the relevant Minister to give us a report on the operation of the recently commenced International Protection Act 2015. There is a fear among people who know and care that a significant number of deportations of asylum seekers may take place in the future as a result of the operation of the Act. Newly published figures show that in 2016, 428 asylum seekers and illegal migrants were deported from the Republic. Lawyers in the International Protection Office in Dublin are assessing applications from asylum seekers under the new legislation for the first time.The Minister talks about this streamlining the old system and says that further measures will be introduced to further enhance the protection and security of our borders.

There is major concern about the fact that errors could be caused by applicants misunderstanding the extensive application for international protection questionnaire that is required, maybe because of inadequate legal advice. It is a 60-page document that has to be returned within 20 working days. This is a tight deadline for someone working with few friends and no influence in the country.

There is a concern that people would not have the legal or other advice they need, thus making it easier for the State to say "No" should early issues of credibility arise. However, such issues, perhaps, would not be there if proper assistance and a suitable timeline were available for asylum seekers. I call on the Minister to initiate a review on the operations of this new questionnaire and to come to the House to inform us and reassure us on how it will operate.