Common Ground

I’m in the unusual position of agreeing with Ronan Mullen (“What is to be done about direct provision? – Irish Times”), someone I generally don’t find common ground with.

Perhaps best known for his anti-abortion views, Mr Mullen has struck out from the pack with a proposal to radically overhaul direct provision.
He is calling on the Government to grant the right to seek employment (permitted in all but one other EU State) and establish female-only and family-only reception centres.
Mr Mullen speaks about how asylum seekers’ dignity is being eroded “in big ways and in little ways”.
“People in prison have a date on the door. People in direct provision do not. They don’t know when they will have the freedom to do the simple ordinary things of life like cook a meal or get a family pet,” he says.

Well said.