Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to say Fianna Fáil is supporting this Bill on this Stage. My colleagues have made some excellent points. There is obviously a problem here. There are children living in this country who were born here and go to school here and who identify as Irish. Through no fault of their own, they have fallen through the cracks. It is not good for Senators to say we have a great track record in this country in regard to undocumented people compared with other countries because we do not. We have an abysmal record. Many people came here during the boom years in good faith. They got work permits and engaged in economic activity. They were very much needed, wanted and embraced. When the recession hit, they were no longer able to get work permits and they fell through the cracks but their lives went on. They met their partners, married, had children and now they face this uphill battle and threat of deportation. It is outrageous and a disgrace that people have to depend on having a Minister in their constituency or on their own skills as individuals to mount a campaign. Many people would not have the language skills or the confidence or the cute backstory necessary for a public campaign. It is very unfair that we allow a very small but significant cohort of people to live with this constant threat over their heads.

It is disgraceful if the Government opposes the Bill. Perhaps there are problems with the Bill but I would urge the Minister to work with the Labour Party, which brought it forward, and with other Senators. It is a very important topic. We should be working together to get a solution to this. As Senator Ó Riordáin pointed out, immigration has never been an issue for any mainstream political party. Therefore, it is incumbent on us to work together to reach a solution that will help a small number of families. It is important for them and the communities they live in. They are in schools, sports clubs and play very important roles. For our nation to develop and stand among our European colleagues, we should be able to say we are a welcoming country and we embrace people from other countries who are contributing economically, socially and culturally to this country and their communities. They see Ireland as their country.

We need to be making progress on several fronts. The asylum system is not fit for purpose to say the least. For people to stand up here and say we can hold our heads up high on direct provision-----