Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Regrettably, I am now convinced that the politicians in this Cabinet have no interest in making policies that serve people in Ireland. In the village of Coole, County Westmeath, a hard-fought victory was achieved last week. Eighteen modular units were prevented from being added to a site which already had an IPAS contract for 12 units. An enforcement order by Westmeath County Council was in place to stop these additional modular units being added. People within these communities are sick of the reckless mismanagement, where one hand of the State does not know what the other hand is doing.

On 25 April, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, stated that the Department of Justice's plans to turn Thornton Hall into a prison were still under consideration. However, an announcement last Thursday shows it will become a centre for IPAS accommodation in the form of tents for asylum seekers. To be clear, no one wants to see anyone in a tent in this country, not an Irishman in a tent nor indeed anyone seeking refuge or protection. This is a product of a shameful cycle of poor planning and inhumane living conditions imposed on people, offering no solution to Ireland's many ongoing crises. The site of Thornton Hall is wholly unsuitable for any temporary accommodation. For comparison, St. Ita's, Portrane, is a far better site for such a setting. It has an approximately 165-acre facility. It is vacant and simply needs refurbishment. Thornton Hall is a reckless solution. Housing and migration issues are among the top concerns of every citizen. The public is crying out for sustainable, long-term solutions and the Government is letting the citizens down. The Housing Commission report today shows an underlying deficit in Ireland of 250,000 homes.It is a shameful indictment of this Government that our political system is failed. Any vote given to a politician who supports the EU migration pact will only add to these problems. We need to create national laws for national solutions to our unique national broken migration and asylum system. The Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, and his Department have either no will or acumen to fix our broken migration system. We need a stand-alone Minister for migration to be immediately instated, where all Ministers are accountable to them. The system cannot continue as is and it needs a dedicated Minister if we want real solutions, instead of this reckless approach.