Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2015
3. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on the independent working group report on asylum seekers that, among other issues, recommends the provision of residency to those who are over five years in direct provision centres and an increase in the weekly allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27088/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhat are the Minister's views on the report of the independent working group on direct provision, which is damning and contains limited recommendations on the provision of residency to those who have been more than five years in direct provision and on an increase in the weekly allowance? Does the Government intend to take on board these recommendations and make those changes?
I welcome the publication of the report but do not agree with the Deputy's assessment of it. This is the first time that any Government has examined the direct provision system in 15 years. The Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, and I set up the working group. All agencies working in this area were represented on it. It has made 173 recommendations. The report is broad and offers a roadmap for change in direct provision.
Like other European countries, Ireland is responding to the number of asylum seekers looking for protection. People who present must be accommodated. Some countries detain them while others provide hostels of various types and still others provide no accommodation at all. Ireland has a system of direct provision, which has been assessed by the working group.
Quite a number of recommendations can be implemented in the short term whereas others are medium-term or long-term recommendations. Some recommendations relate to persons who have been in the system for five years or longer and increasing the direct provision allowance. They are of a cross-cutting nature and require that I consult Cabinet colleagues. Many have significant resource implications and impact on other programmes, such as social housing.
We must be cognisant of the changing environment in terms of asylum seekers. There has been a major increase in numbers. We have seen the situation in the Mediterranean. The numbers entering Ireland are set to double this year from 1,500 asylum seekers to 3,000. While that is starting at a lower base than we had previously, the Government must consider the matter in the round. My intention is to revert to the Government as soon as possible, having consulted with colleagues. We need a Cabinet discussion. The recommendations are cross-departmental in that they have implications for social welfare, housing and education. A number of my colleagues have commented on some of the recommendations and indicated a number of changes that they are prepared to make and on which they are working.
An excessive length of time is the key problem. No other Minister has dealt with it, but we have the heads of a Bill that will introduce a single procedure. That is what will make the difference.
I thank the Minister. Does she agree that the current situation is inhumane and intolerable, as described accurately by the Minister of State? I am sure that she has visited the centres where conditions are inhumane and intolerable. People have no individuality or freedom over what they do in their lives and are dependent on their centres to provide food that may not be of sufficient nutritional quality. It is an horrific way to live. Almost 8,000 people are in this situation, of whom nearly 2,000 are children. More than 3,000 people have been in this situation for longer than five years.
The report's points include the uncertainty overshadowing people's lives, the lack of personal autonomy over the most basic aspects of their lives, the lack of privacy, the challenges of sharing space with strangers, the boredom and isolation and an inability to support themselves. After five years of living in this way, people's talents and skills, of which they have many, inevitably dim. They feel that they have been oppressed. Does the Minister agree that everyone should be gone after five years and that there should be an increase, which is still minimal as recommended, in the amount of money that they receive?
The accommodation that is used across Europe for asylum seekers varies considerably. I accept that the accommodation varies in Ireland too. There are issues for children and families in relation to accommodation. The biggest problem is the length of time that children and families are spending in the system. That was the point my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, was making about the conditions. We are seeking to solve this problem by introducing new legislation to provide for a single procedure. This will mean that people's cases will be dealt with within a period of between six months and a year. The report says that when this more effective and efficient procedure has been introduced, other improvements can follow. Of course this procedure will also mean that economic migrants who are here illegally - people who are not asylum seekers but are assessed under that process - will have to return where possible to their country of origin. The EU stresses the issue of returns as well.
It is correct to say that the standard of accommodation and the manner in which asylum seekers are treated varies across Europe. In parts of Europe, people are literally in prison camps. We have something that approximates in some respects to open prison camps. While our conditions are not as bad as those in some other parts of Europe, we should not compare ourselves to the very worst conditions in Europe. Almost 8,000 people in this country are living in conditions that give them no control over the lives on a day-to-day basis. They cannot buy things for their children. They often cannot afford extracurricular activities for their children in school. They cannot socialise, interact or be based in society. The manner in which people are being treated is inhumane. Does the Minister agree on a more fundamental level that we should not have a system that segregates people and takes them away from the rest of society? I suggest that people should be allowed to work, to contribute to society, to pay tax and to live as normal human beings with proper decency and full human rights.
I have to say I do not accept the Deputy's characterisation of these facilities as open prisons. The children attend local primary and secondary schools, are entitled to medical services and are supported within the centres. I have some concerns. My primary concern and main effort right now is to make sure people are not in the system for lengthy periods. As the report recognises, many of these difficulties come about because people are in the system for so long. It can begin to feel very difficult for families in the system that have not had their cases heard. It is clear that the uncertainty is extremely difficult for people who have been in the system for lengthy periods of time. We have to deal with that. There are approximately 4,500 people in the system. At present, there is no accommodation for approximately 600 families that have been deemed to be asylum seekers. Clearly, the Government's broader investment in social housing will be part of the answer to the situation we are currently facing. I would say that this is a very big issue across Europe. Sweden is currently taking 80,000 people a year. Germany is taking 300,000 migrants. There is a need for a much broader programme of action at EU level, along the lines of that outlined in the EU action programme on migration, to begin to deal with this issue.
