Billy Lawless (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise a most important issue that falls under the brief of the Minister for Justice and Equality. Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will sit again on the very important case of NVH v.the Minister for Justice and Equality.This decision, as I highlighted in this Chamber on 4 October this year, included judgment of profound significance and compassion. It was delivered by Mr. Justice Donal O'Donnell. He 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 and that time is up tomorrow. The court may strike down the absolute prohibition on work for asylum seekers as being repugnant to the Constitution. When the Minister was before this House, Members were informed that the interdepartmental task force led by his Department would report back in advance of the submissions the State intended to make before the court. I ask the Leader if he will update the House as to what the Minister intends to tell the Supreme Court tomorrow. Will asylum seekers have a right to work in this country or will they not? If so, when and how? Will legislation be put through these Houses? The Minister confirmed to this House that adults living in direct provision "will also see their capacity for economic independence enhanced in line with the finding of the Supreme Court". How is this to be put into effect? When the Minister came before the House, he committed to "delivering an international protection system in Ireland that provides for decisions on applications in the shortest possible timeframes". If there was a legal or practical limitation upon the amount of time during which an application for asylum status could be processed, particularly now that it appears the undocumented will be given the right to work, this would be a much fairer state of affairs to regularise our asylum process. In the facts of the Supreme Court case, the undocumented person was in the system for more than eight years, with no entitlement to work.

On another issue, as I have stated previously in this House, how can those of us who advocate for the undocumented Irish abroad, which is a strategic and diplomatic imperative of this Government and previous ones before it, in good conscience ignore what is an even worse state of affairs for the undocumented in Ireland?