Yesterday, I mentioned the White Paper on direct provision. This contribution follows on from that. Yesterday afternoon, I met with representatives of the Abolish Direct Provision Ireland campaign. I was unaware when I spoke yesterday that three men are currently hunger striking outside for the right to work. It is very sad symbolically where they are. When I went to figure out where the men were, to see about their health and what stage they are at on day 16 on just water, I found they have not had any health checks. When we have had hunger strikes outside in the past, the HSE has acted and sent those in charge of health equity, etc., to come to do health checks. Today, I have raised the alarm from a health perspective as the men are now quite confused. They are experiencing lots of nausea and sickness and it is obviously becoming a risk factor at this time. Historically, people have protested directly outside the gates of Leinster House but these men are in the alcove or square on Kildare Street just before Agriculture House. I thought there was something quite striking about the fact that the men felt they could not sit outside Leinster House. There is something about being a migrant and an asylum seeker - you want to name what your needs are and ask for the right to work, but then there is also the fear of being too visible. I wonder what the thinking was in relation to where they placed themselves as they sought the right to work.

As we know, people need to have a stamp 4 to have the right to work in Ireland. There has been lots of conversation over recent years about how much asylum, direct provision, IPAS and all of these things are costing us. There is lots of misinformation and disinformation purposely aimed at migrants about what they are getting and not getting from the State. Yet, we have thousands of people who require a stamp 4 to go out to work and want to go out to work. It is a complete lie to paint so many people with the same brush in terms of what people demand, need and want. This campaign group, along with these men, is saying they need a stamp 4. They are saying that they need to be able to work and that they cannot leave direct provision unless they know they can affordably pay rent to a landlord. They are caught in a complete trap as soon as their right to work is removed from them for whatever reason. They are all at different stages of the system and the process. I want to raise the alarm that there are three men currently on day 16 of hunger strike outside these buildings and it has gone relatively unnoticed. I encourage people to check in with them and to alert the appropriate Departments of this so that we can have some sort of negotiation to end this and make sure these men do not do irreparable damage to their health.