We have to differentiate between those who need our help and those who do not. We have made a commitment to the Ukrainian people, some of it because we are not supplying weaponry as a militarily neutral country to help the Ukrainians in their fight against the illegal Russian invasion and onslaught that has killed so many of their people. We have made a commitment and if we make a commitment, we have to continue to follow through with it. That is why I welcome the extension until 2027. The Irish Red Cross in its previous work had highlighted that a lot of the properties coming in under the ARP would not have been put onto the rental market and that remains the case. That does not mean that there are not some properties that would otherwise be rented out. However, when looked at in an holistic way, abolishing the ARP will put more people under pressure and put more pressure on the housing market. In essence, a lot of the properties here are providing a cheap way of accommodating those who need help. I recognise no new properties are being brought into it, so it is a balance. On the wider level, under UN conventions we have recognised consistently our need to protect those who are fleeing from persecution from elsewhere. Despite a small minority in this House and a vocal minority outside this House, we have lived up to our obligations to provide refuge to those coming here. The Minister said that we need to tighten up the process. I fully support that and the quicker processing of claims, within the six-month period. It is tied into the Ukrainian side of things purely because of the number of people who will need accommodation. Anyone granted refugee status in this country needs accommodation. However, I reiterate that the vast majority of those coming into Ireland seeking international protection have been found on appeal to be economic migrants. We do have certain areas of work where people from abroad can make a valuable contribution, but the asylum process is not the way to go through it. We need to speed up people coming in and then going back out again. We need a moratorium for people who have been here for a long time, especially children because it is inhumane to send them back after a prolonged period. I am saying that in the knowledge that there are people in this country who have abused our welcome. People in this country who were free to come to Ireland because they are EU citizens have abused our welcome. I know there is free movement, but there are certain criteria in that regard. If the Minister is talking about sending people out of Ireland, I would be thinking about the scammers who threw a man out of a taxi or the individual who ejaculated upon a woman on the Luas. Are these sorts of people who are being told after they get a sentence - if they get a sentence - that they are no longer welcome in this country? Are they being told to get out and stay out? They are the sorts of people who should not be in this country. We should be seen to be extremely tough on them. However, the Ukrainians who are fleeing an ongoing war need our continued support. There are also people who are fleeing war and persecution in other parts of the world. We have seen the conflict in Syria and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. These sorts of people also need our ongoing support. We have obligations and we should live up to them. I take on board what has been said about the pressures the housing crisis is putting on people. With regard to my constituency, 20% of software companies are employing people from overseas in non-essential jobs. These are all high-paid jobs. These people want to locate in the suburbs because that is where the software companies are. We need to look again at our policy as to where software and pharmaceutical companies locate. They should be in the golden triangle between Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore. If people are commuting, they should be heading westwards rather than eastwards. I have said that. There is a pressure on housing and we need to address it. However, we will not address it by looking at making it harder for vulnerable people coming here from Ukraine, Syria, Sudan and other conflict zones. We have to protect those people while at the same time getting tougher on those who, nice as they may be, are economic migrants seeking a better way of life. That should be done through the work permit system. I welcome the extension to 2027. It is the right thing to do.

Sentiment score: 0.04