Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Senator Feighan asked what we have against Australia and New Zealand. It is only two weeks since I raised the issue of the Suhinthan family who decided to emigrate to New Zealand after being headhunted by employers there. However, one of their three daughters was denied access to the country because she has Down's syndrome. Obviously, this will force the family to abandon its plans. I asked what this said about New Zealand, a supposedly tolerant country which is supposedly a friend to the Irish people. Incredibly, a rather similar case has arisen, this time in Australia, and the details of which are, perhaps, even worse. In 2009, Anthony and Christine Hyde moved from Dublin to Victoria, where he works as a bus driver and she is a teacher and assistant principal in a local primary school. Their son, Darragh, was born there in 2015. The family applied for permanent residency in Australia. In the course of the application, their son was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. The family met the criteria for permanent residency but, incredibly, the diagnosis led to their application being rejected due to the potential cost of the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Essentially, Australia and New Zealand are saying that skilled Irish people and their families are perfectly welcome so long as none of them is disabled. If they are, they and their families are stigmatised and refused entry. I hope we would never be so heartless here in Ireland. Certainly, I am not aware of any situation where this has occurred or could occur here. I cannot imagine a situation whereby a family from Australia or New Zealand would be turned away on the grounds that one of the children was born with a manageable medical or genetic condition. If Donald Trump were to impose such a disgusting and discriminatory policy on immigrants to his country, there would be worldwide outrage, but when supposedly liberal and tolerant countries such as Australia and New Zealand do it, there is political silence and, effectively, a media blackout. There has been an almost total media blackout here about these cases. The initial application by the Hyde family was refused by the Australian immigration agency and is now under appeal to the administrative appeals tribunal. I intend to raise these cases as a Commencement matter such that the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, can address them urgently. In the interim, does the Leader agree that these cases are shocking-----