Order of Business - 11th March 2010

Order of Business - 11th March 2010
Senator David Norris: I support colleagues who asked for a debate on Tallaght Hospital. I was interested in the fact that many commentators used phrases like “managerial inattention” and “managerial dysfunction”. We owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Tom O’Dowd. It is extraordinary that, when he wrote a letter pointing out that 30,000 letters had gone unanswered, his letter also remained unanswered. Anyone involved in a Seanad campaign well knows the bulk of 30,000 filled envelopes.


Senator Donie Cassidy: Especially the Independent Senators.


Senator David Norris: How could it have escaped anyone’s attention? Pile on top of this 70,000 X-rays and even I would have noticed it.

It must be pointed out that Tallaght Hospital has been grossly underfunded since its commencement, as stated in the House repeatedly and supported on all sides. Part of this problem is due to the fact that the bureaucracy did not want the Adelaide and Meath Hospital and the National Children’s Hospital to survive. Tallaght is a fine hospital and I regret what has occurred.

I wish to discuss the activities of the Garda National Immigration Bureau, GNIB, and the Irish National Immigration Service, INIS, as I am concerned about a particular point. Some 17,000 people must have permits issued to them under the IBCO 5 scheme. Last December, the INIS, a part of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, advertised a procedure for this where people turned up with their papers and a fee. The GNIB told them that it could not give them their certificates until they were approved by the INIS. People were stopped from getting their permits, as a result of which people lost their jobs. An emergency scheme was then introduced and people were each charged €150 for a three-month emergency visa. The proper visas have now started to be issued, but people are being charged another €150. This is double jeopardy and double charging. It is an unfair attack on the weakest people. In the Lower House, the Minister accepted that people would be charged €150 for three-month visas and a further €150 for 12-month visas having completely botched the scheme, made people lose their jobs and created gaps in their immigration records, which may prejudice their attempts for asylum. The authorities should be on their knees apologising, not extracting a further €150 from vulnerable people.