Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Tá áthas orm go bhfuil sé anseo mar tá a fhios agam gur Aire Stáit é a bhfuil an-suim aige sa gceist seo agus san ábhar seo. I welcome the Minister because from what I have heard him say, I believe he is genuinely concerned about these issues and I do think he wants to do the right thing when it comes to asylum issues. I want to wholeheartedly welcome this Bill and commend Senator Kelleher for the work she is doing. It is important as well to recognise the work of the NGOs in this area. The ones I would have worked closely with have been the Irish Refugee Council, NASC and others.

When the International Protection Bill was coming through the House, we highlighted this as a major issue. I raised the issue and it is great to see the change of heart from Senator Ó Ríordáin, who was Minister of State at the time bringing that Bill through, because we did argue that this was going to be an issue coming down the line and it was not going to be acceptable.

I am not going to go into great depth. It is very important that Fianna Fáil is now supporting the Bill. That is really welcome. I will again put on the record that direct provision is an appalling system. I do not think it is acceptable. It is institutional abuse in itself. I can appreciate that certain tweaking around the edges is being done on direct provision. However, we as a country need to look at a totally different model of dealing with people who are seeking asylum in this country and the way that they are accommodated. In case people think that this is a kind of a theoretical amendment, it is not. I have been in the direct provision centres in Galway again recently. This is a very real issue for the people in those centres. They have loved ones whom they cannot be reunited with at present. They are very concerned about their well-being.