Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that we take No. 21, the Education (Welfare) (Amendment) Bill 2017, before No. 1.

Tacaím leis an méid atá ráite leis an Seanadóir Ó Céidigh mar gheall ar dhíospóireacht ó thaobh chúrsaí Gaeilge de. Tá sé thar am go mbeadh an díospóireacht sin againn anseo. Ba chóir go rachaidh sé ar aghaidh ar feadh dhá uair a chloig ar a laghad, mar a dúirt an Seanadóir féin.

My last point is to support what Senator Bacik said about the recent report on conditions for children in direct provision. It is a matter of pride to this House that Members, collectively and across parties, have taken the matter of direct provision so seriously. A number of debates on the issue took place both in this Seanad and the previous one. Can we not, for the love of God, implement the report of the working group on direct provision, which was chaired by Judge Bryan McMahon? I ask that the Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Stanton, be invited back to the House, but I know, because I was once in his position, that he is not necessarily the person with the last call on these issues. That is the Minister for Justice and Equality. There is a new Minister for Justice and Equality and he has expressed concern about, and interest in, this issue in the past. I ask the Leader to invite him to the House in the autumn, with the express intention of committing to implementing the McMahon report on the protection and direct provision systems. Many Members of this House want the direct provision system to be abolished, but we are simply asking that the McMahon report on the system, which is more than two years old and which was a compromise with the non-governmental organisations, NGOs, that were invited to take part in the working group, be implemented to the letter and in full. That is not too much to ask in this day and age. We are scarring the lives of children, in particular, who are still in the direct provision system.