Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would have been happy to allow Deputy Conway-Walsh speak for another minute if she wanted.

As has been said, the Government is taking the wrong path here. The majority of measures in the EU's migration and asylum pact are not in Ireland's interests. Through its determination to bind itself to every element of this pact, the Government believes it can distance itself from its own failings by convincing us that the powers to build a better immigration system just were not there.

A few years ago, direct provision centres were filled with people who had fled horror only to find themselves waiting years for the system to work in what were often unacceptable situations. Fine Gael, which has been in government for 13 years supported my Fianna Fáil for eight of those years, has failed to introduce a well-managed, fair, efficient and enforced asylum system. This Government has continued in that vein and through its unconditional acceptance of this pact seeks to tie the hands of future governments.

Our international protection system is in a mess not because of the absence of this pact, but because of the Government's lack of a proper plan which led to reliance on private operators. Communities are left feeling neglected and ignored. We definitely need co-operation with the EU and internationally; nobody is arguing with that. Ultimately, it will be still for the Government to develop a fair, enforced and functioning system.

Enhancing the ability to return people who seek to make an asylum application here to the country where they first made a claim will benefit us, as will opting into the Eurodac regulation.

There will be times scenarios will present themselves in which we will need the flexibility to respond ourselves. We simply do not know what the situation will be like in five or ten years. One such scenario involves a common travel area we share with Britain. This is a situation where bilateral legislation may be needed so to limit the flexibility to respond would be a mistake. The number of people presenting is also unanticipated. Our IPAS system is overwhelmed. While elements of this pact can assist, the lion's share of the responsibility to develop a proper system is, and always will be, with the Government. No pact will change that reality. Indeed, a number of human rights organisations have voiced their concerns that several of the measures do not even meet adequate human rights standards. Sinn Féin is opposed to the vast majority of provisions in the migration pact and we will vote against the Government's proposal for a full opt-in. Under-resourced communities need the confidence that we can adapt in their interest, not sideline them in favour of a binding agreement with the EU that may limit our ability to respond to the realities we face.

We will not support the Government's proposal to fully opt-in to the migration pact. It is reckless, limits our sovereignty, ties the hands of future governments and limits our ability to adapt to our own unique challenges. A lot of the fear that is out there needs to be and can be replaced if the Government would only communicate with communities.

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