Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Over the past few weeks, I have called for the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to come to the House to debate ending direct provision. I again thank the Leader for writing in and for supporting it. Unfortunately, I will need to submit a Commencement matter for next two or three weeks until I can get him in the House.

It has come to my attention and to the attention of many other Senators that people in direct provision who are employed, no matter how small their job might be, will be required to pay rent. The Government can make it sound as nice as it wants, but it is still rent that people will have to pay. Where did this idea come from? Who is responsible for deciding that people living in direct provision will have to pay rent? Would anyone here pay rent to live in a system that does not meet their needs? From speaking to people living in direct provision, I know it is a cruel system. Basically, all they have is a safe space. Earlier I spoke to a woman who told me she has to share a bathroom with four other families. Will we next ask women placed refuges to pay rent? It is really getting serious when we are asking people living in direct provision to pay rent. I know it is for those who have a job.

It also came to my attention earlier that officials from the International Protection Accommodation Services are going into refugee centres and if people have their papers, they are being asked to move out. How can people move out of these centres when they have no homes or anywhere else to go to? We have a major problem that we need to deal with. The Minister can hide away from it, but we need to get him to come to the House to ask him these questions. At the end of the day, this is a humanitarian crisis and we should not be asking these people with little or no money to pay rent.