Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Much of it speaks to the concerns I have with the pact. When we think of international protection and asylum we should be thinking of enhancing people's rights. The pact is a punitive measure. It is not really about international protection. It is actually about detention. The moment we begin to speak about detention of any group, especially under the conditions that are laid out in the EU pact, it is extremely concerning. Even the idea of a last resort is concerning.

People say we use prison as the last resort in Ireland, yet our prisons are overflowing with people who should not be there. I do not really know where the measurement of last resort comes for people. We only have to look at Greece, how people have been detained there and how the EU has stood over that. The EU has also been making deals with Tunisia and other countries about borders, and other stuff is happening with regard to Albania. I am not sure exactly to whom I should address this question but perhaps one of the witnesses will comment on where they see the biggest risks for violations of human rights with this pact. The safe third country is one aspect and potentially the access to fair and just legal proceedings should a person not be granted access. A witness might also speak to why the third country issue is so problematic, especially when we consider people being able to have freedom and choice in where they seek refuge or asylum, which may be for a number of reasons such as the political climate there, because they have family there or other ties that were removed.

On the safe third country and the access to legal rights, reference was made to the amount of appeals that are overturned. Obviously if a person is going through a truncated system of 12 weeks, there would be less information available within 12 weeks compared with an appeals process. Perhaps we could home in on that and get some comment on where we see the biggest risks for violations of human rights.