Billy Lawless (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on direct provision. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, to the Chamber. The Government and this House have a responsibility to listen to and legislate for a very important decision that has been delivered by the Supreme Court since this House last had a chance to speak on this matter. As Senators will be aware, the Supreme Court found that the ban on asylum seekers looking for work is unconstitutional "in principle". Section 9 of the Refugee Act 1996 provides that a person seeking asylum is entitled to enter the State and remain here while the application for refugee status is processed. However, section 9(4) provides, inter alia, that an asylum seeker shall not "seek or enter employment" before a final determination is made on his or her application for a declaration. Pending the determination of an application for refugee status, applicants are required to live in direct provision and are provided with an allowance of just €19 per week.

In delivering the Supreme Court judgment at the end of May 2017, Mr. Justice O'Donnell ruled that having no limitations on the prohibition of employment for a person who had lived in direct provision for eight years was unconstitutional. In a judgment of profound significance and compassion, Mr. Justice O'Donnell stated:

In my view, the point has been reached when it cannot be said that the legitimate differences between an asylum seeker and a citizen can continue to justify the exclusion of an asylum seeker from the possibility of employment. The damage to the individual's self worth, and sense of themselves, is exactly the damage which the constitutional right seeks to guard against. The affidavit evidence of depression, frustration and lack of self-belief bears that out.

The Supreme Court provided a period of six months for the Oireachtas to remedy what it determined to be an unconstitutional state of affairs, but we await that legislation. As we lobby for the undocumented abroad with cross-party coalition support, we must have the moral fortitude to deliver for the undocumented at home.