Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Mica Action Group from Donegal to Leinster House. They will be in the audiovisual room at 4 p.m. All are welcome. The event will be hosted by Deputy Pringle and it will be an opportunity to hear the voices of the campaigners who deserve and should get 100% redress.

Tomorrow at 11 a.m. a south Dublin mental health report will be launched about Travellers. Over the last two years, credit should be given where credit is due. It may not be the amount that is needed to fix the mental health inequalities that Travellers are experiencing in Ireland, but we are getting some funding and some good support from the office of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. It is remarkable to be able to say that as a person who represents our community at times in this House. If people want to come along to that event tomorrow, it will be held at 11 a.m. in the audiovisual room. They will get to hear the voices of the Traveller community and issues that impact Travellers' mental health, as well as some of the positive changes that have been made. It is not all negative.

I welcome the discussions that will be held tomorrow about people who are living in direct provision and their accommodation. I ask people with all my heart that before they come in here tomorrow to remember that in order to debate these people’s lives we have to understand that they are people first and foremost. We must have no racist comments in the House. I do not believe that we in this House stand for racism, discrimination or xenophobia. I remind Members to think about that before the debate tomorrow.Garda vetting is a hugely important part of any job application, and rightly so, particularly for jobs that require people to work with children and I know there are always issues regarding delays. I have come across situations where individuals have worked abroad, for example in Dubai, and had to get the United Arab Emirates to provide that vetting. In one case, a person has run into difficulties in getting that in terms of logistics. The person worked in a similar position in the United Kingdom and did not require vetting for the time in Dubai. The Garda states that the person would have to fly back and actually get fingerprinted in the United Arab Emirates and would require a request form, which the Garda does not provide. It advised the lady to get one from the embassy. The embassy claims it does not have such forms. The HSE states that it is up to the applicant to sort the clearance forms with individual authorities so it will not have anything to do with it. This all has to be done within three days or a job offer can be rescinded. It is a very onerous requirement for somebody to actually fly back to a country in which she previously served a number of years to try to get fingerprints taken. To do so a person must have a request form that the Garda and the embassy do not know anything about and the HSE states it is nothing to do with it. At a time when we absolutely require staff, when there is somebody qualified who has spent time abroad in the UK and in Dubai, it is important that there would be greater flexibility and leniency regarding State jobs such as this. As I said, garda vetting is hugely important, and we understand that, but to be able to rescind a job offer in the space of three days because a person does not have vetting from a country where they cannot get the request forms to actually go there and get their fingerprints taken is onerous. Can the Leader contact the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin, and the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, about cases like this?