Alan Kelly

That is a common thing in here.

That is a bit condescending now.

I do not.

You might explain amendment No. 9 then as well.

Have we finally found a use for Grok? This is where we are going with this - seriously. As I look around the room, the Minister is probably the most qualified legal person in here, I would suspect. How did we get to this point on Committee Stage, after pre-legislative scrutiny and Second Stage, where we have not defined this? I am looking forward to seeing why my amendment was ruled out of order, …

The committee meeting this week makes a mockery of what the Minister is proposing. Civil legal aid is basically about to collapse. I accept some of the pressures are brought about by changes internationally over recent years. The Minister is patting himself on the back because of the increase he got from Government but it needs to be multiples of that. In the long run, it will save the State. It i…

Why not bring it forward now, so?

I move amendment No. 8: In page 23, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: "(2) A reference in this Act to a ‘measure of last resort’ means, in relation to an adult or a child, a measure that is taken only after all non-custodial alternatives to detention have been duly considered, in accordance with Recital 33 and Article 10(2) of the Reception Conditions Directive.". This amendment…

Hear, hear.

We need a definition. We in the Labour Party included this amendment because we felt we are now crossing into a new level we have never before dealt with in the State in respect of holding people, including children, who are vulnerable. This is going down a road which is unacceptable to many. I listened to what the Minister said. Some of what he said I genuinely accept, when he includes the three …

I am sorry, a Cheann Comhairle-----

For complete clarity, if the wording "free of charge" was not in the amendment, the likelihood is that these amendments could have been accepted.

Yes, I understand.

We are always learning in this place, trust me.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for that clarification.

This needs to be defined. We cannot leave this loose. We already had a discussion on the previous amendment in relation to how we are moving into new territory as regards detaining children. It is never good when children are being detained. It is not acceptable. However, we also have to have a definition as regards what we are doing to include the best interests of the child as a primary consider…

I move amendment No. 13: In page 25, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(2) Where an officer of the Minister, pursuant to any enactment or rule of law, performs a function conferred on the Minister by virtue of subsection (1), the officer is independent in the performance of that function.”. The structure of decision-making in individual international protection application case…

I thank the Minister of State for his response and I acknowledge the note he received from his officials with regard to the Attorney General. That is fine. We have put a lot of research into this amendment as a party because we believe there are serious legal questions around this, particularly in the context of hierarchical decision-making, the case law within Supreme Court decision-making and ho…

I have had to adapt to the issues relating to IPAS centres being in my constituency for a lot longer than most people inside here. Some did reference going back a while, but not everybody. I understand the spirit of this amendment. I accept there should be community analysis and I will outline the reason for that in a few minutes, but I am not sure practically how many centres would end up getting…

Thanks. This has never happened in my career here. There was a lot of fear in the community, and in the community at that time, there were people who were willing to block access to the Riverside apartments, because they did not want people coming. Swing on to 2024, when these people who had been moved into the apartments were being forced out of the apartments, again because it was run privately…

We will not be opposing any of the Minister's amendments as they are broadly technical but I have to say, it is a huge pity he does not practice what he preaches in relation to this Bill. He was on the total opposite of this debate when he was sitting in a different part of this Chamber - with Government but against it. Once the Minister got the seal of office, he changed tack totally and that is …

Yes.

Agreed.

Why did the Minister change his mind?

So the Minister is bringing in legislation he does not agree with.