Asylum seekers' protest
Senator Ruane highlights a grassroots protest by asylum seekers outside the House and says many fear deportation, conscription and being forced into wars.
I want to draw attention very briefly to the protest outside today which is a very grassroots gathering of people who are in asylum. Often we see very NGO-organised advocacy and what strikes me about the people outside today is that they are all asylum seekers who are in various situations. A lot of them are very fearful about what their future holds. If they are facing deportation many of them are worried that they will be conscripted. Many of them do not want to fight in other people's wars because they may be on bordering countries. They are also drawing a huge amount of attention to the continued use of direct provision in Ireland. We had the White Paper on direct provision in 2021. I am not sure how far that has moved or what is being done so that we can afford people who live here dignity and respect in how they live together and how we live side by side with people who are seeking asylum in Ireland. I am hoping that we can have a debate or statements and an update from the Minister on the White Paper in regards to ending direct provision in Ireland.