Christmas is approaching and irrespective of religious belief, most Irish people see it as a time for flaithiúlacht, generosity of spirit, and inaction. A group of people urgently need a generous response from the State. They are immigrant parents of children born here who had lawfully applied for residency in Ireland before February 2003, when the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform changed the rules and stopped processing all applications not already determined, leaving thousands of people in a twilight zone. Some of these people were applicants for asylum but when they had children here they were advised, including by those in official positions, to withdraw their applications on the basis that they would get residency as parents of Irish citizens. Those who took the advice are in a precarious and exposed position.

Furthermore, most cannot afford adequate legal representation to advance their case since, unfortunately, they are forbidden to work. It means that children of two, three and four years of age who are Irish citizens, attending school and speaking with Irish accents have parents who are in fear and dread of receiving letters ordering them to leave the country. In some cases they face being forcibly wrenched from communities where many have well integrated and being sent out of the country. It is taking a heavy mental and emotional toll.

The Taoiseach is aware of this because he has visited immigrant support centres and been photographed with the children. As we approach the Christmas season, with one million of our own people settled in Britain, hundreds of thousands in other countries and tens of millions overseas whose parents came from this country, will the Government give a generous response and grant those few thousand people the right of residency here? This would give them the right to make a contribution to society, which they want to make, and to find the same security and future here that millions of our people found around the world.

Given our historical position, we in this country have been very generous in dealing with the influx of immigrants and asylum seekers over recent years, and we continue to be so. I do not need to give the Deputy a litany of all the areas, resources and staff involved. The largest influx of staff into any area of the public service was the 150 additional staff recruited mainly this year to deal with the follow-up to the case to which the Deputy referred, the Supreme Court judgment on the residency and status of Irish born children. The relevant section of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform was established to deal with the cases to which the Deputy referred, which have arisen because of the Supreme Court judgment.

Legislation has been enacted to address this issue and the Deputy knows that every effort is being made to deal with the outstanding cases. No new legal changes are necessary to deal with them. In so far as this is the Christmas period, the services provided by the State to those who have come here in recent years have been outstandingly more friendly and accommodating than those in almost any other country in Europe. We will continue to operate on that basis.

Unfortunately, if I may use the Christmas analogy, the child born in the Irish stable is a citizen but the oxen have more security of tenure than the parents. That is the reality. I met 15 people last week, mainly women in their 20s and some young men, parents of young children who are in this twilight zone. Dealing with the human questions that arise in this area does not call for more staff but a simple change of policy in respect of this cohort of people. It is in the Taoiseach's hands to ensure that happens.

The Coalition Against the Deportation of Irish Children has been established to deal with this problem and it is supported by groups such as Amnesty International, Residents against Racism, the National Women's Council, the Children's Rights Alliance and others. Will the Government change its policy on families of Irish citizen children who had made applications prior to February? Will it also provide the adequate legal assistance to help them make their applications, especially those who are facing deportation orders?

The Deputy's points can be looked at. To what year is he referring?

February 2003.

The Deputy knows that there is a Supreme Court judgment in this case.

I am referring to a policy decision.

The Deputy knows it is not such a simple matter. He picked one aspect of it with which I have some sympathy, where the children are in this country. He also knows that there are many cases where the child has been born in Ireland and the parents have left immediately afterwards. It is a regular occurrence that people come here from various parts of the world to have their children and then return to their own countries. They come here merely to use the maternity services and to get citizenship. I accept the Deputy is aware of the distinctions that can be made in this area, but it is not a simple matter to decide on a loose policy that would enable anybody to use such services. I accept the Deputy's definition of the cohort and in any policy changes all of these issues will be considered but the system cannot be changed in a loose, unregulated way.