Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a view that this perhaps is not necessary. What the Senator is trying to do, as she outlined, is put in place protections. The amendment would insert a new section 51A requirement to inform a person, who is the subject of a return order, of that legal assistance. However, a person who is the subject of a return order already should have received the information required under section 21 of the International Protection Act 2015. Section 21 specifies the information to be given to applicants for international protection whose applications are deemed to be inadmissible and this includes a person's entitlement to consult a legal representative. This support is already available and there is also an acknowledgement in the specific sections that there is an entitlement to consult legal support at that stage.