Paul Murphy urges meeting for hunger strikers fearing deportation
Paul Murphy spoke in the Dáil about seven people on hunger strike outside the Dáil who fear deportation to South Africa. He urged the Government to remove South Africa's designation as a "safe country" and called for the Department of Justice to meet the hunger strikers.
Hunger strikers outside the Dáil
Seven people have been on hunger strike since Monday and are now four days without food. Paul Murphy said they have faced daily abuse and threats from far-right activists, including knives and gun threats, and that some were told they would be killed for being gay; he also raised the heightened dangers for LGBTQ plus and HIV positive people.
Safety designation and asylum processing
Paul Murphy criticised the state designation of South Africa as a "safe country," noting Ireland is one of only two EU countries to do so and that the designation makes it easier to deport people there. The minister replied that a safe-country designation expedites processing, that asylum claims are assessed on their merits, and that fears of persecution because of race, gender or sexual orientation are taken into account.
Calls for Government action and meetings
Paul Murphy asked whether the Government would act to remove South Africa's safe-country designation and whether someone from the Department of Justice would meet the hunger strikers immediately to try to bring the strike to an end. The minister encouraged those on hunger strike to end it, said applicants should have case workers and be engaging with the Department, and urged trust in the system.
Condemnation of attacks and procedural consequences
The minister said any attacks on the hunger strikers should be condemned, assumed the Gardaí were aware and said the matter would be raised. He warned that reversing the safe-country designation "isn't going to process those claims" faster and that, if anything, claims would be processed more slowly.
Next steps highlighted in debate
The central demands from Paul Murphy are a meeting between the Department of Justice and the hunger strikers and reconsideration of South Africa's designation as a safe country. The debate left open the immediate resolution sought by the hunger strikers and the Government's stance on redesignation.
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Minister, I don't know if you have noticed, but there are seven people outside the Dáil who have been there on hunger strike since Monday. They are now in a pretty bad way after four days of no food. They have faced daily abuse and threats from far-right activists who have come here specifically to do that. I understand they are outside now. And they are on hunger strike because they are afraid for their lives of being deported back to South Africa. South Africa ranks as one of the top five most violent countries in the world, but despite that, the state has designated South Africa as a so-called safe country. Ireland is one of only two countries in the EU to do that, which means it is easier to deport people there. Is any consideration given, for example, to the heightened dangers faced by LGBTQ plus people and by HIV positive people in particular? They have told me they have faced a terrifying reality. We have had knives pulled on us, being threatened with guns and told outright that we will be killed for being gay. It is completely unacceptable to tell these people that South Africa is a safe country. Will the Government act to remove South Africa's designation as safe? And in particular, and most immediately, will someone from the Department of Justice agree to meet with the people who are in hunger strike in an attempt to bring this to an end? I think everyone, we have a fair asylum system here, Deputy, and it is fair and everyone's asylum claims are assessed on their merits. I have been to South Africa myself. It is a vast country. There are different areas of the country that one would consider safer than others. The designation of a safe country means that the applications are expedited. I would encourage anyone who is on hunger strike, and I do know that there are people outside on hunger strike there, to end their hunger strike. Their applications in Ireland will be processed and processed fairly, and where anyone has any fear that they're going to be persecuted and returned to any country, because of their race, their gender, their sexual orientation, and that, that is absolutely taken into account. But what we don't want as well is that people are doing their own health damage by that. I'm assuming every one of those people have an asylum claim in, have been assigned a case worker as well, are engaging with the Department of Justice. I would absolutely condemn any attacks or that they're experiencing shouldn't happen. I'm assuming that Garda Siakana are aware of it, and we will raise that too. Thank you very much. And we'll go through the normal channels where an applicant has made an asylum application that will be processed and processed fairly. And I would just encourage those who are outside to trust in the system. The re-designation, just say, Keogh Gorda, reversing the designation from safe country, you know, isn't going to process those claims. And if anything, the claims would be longer processed. Thank you very much.
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