Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. Like him, I have had to master the art of bilocation today, so I apologise in advance if any of these questions have already been asked.

Last week we were assured border procedures were absolutely not detention centres. Will the witnesses speak to that if they can? I am very fearful of the border procedures to be set up under this pact near airports and other places people coming here might arrive. We are told they are simply not detention centres. The idea of any form of detention centre fills me with dread.

A quagmire is built into this political pact where applicants under the border procedure are not authorised to enter the territory of a member state, meaning there will be a legal fiction whereby some international applicants who are in the country are not deemed to be in the territory. Will the witnesses speak to me about the dangers of a system like that, where people are essentially not just stateless, but unrecognised within the law of the territory where they physically exist? I would like to get the benefit of their expertise on the dangers that might present for both adults and children. Some 160 human rights organisations, some of which are represented here, have come out against this pact, yet when that point was raised with the Minister last week she told us that in the eight years over which this has progressed through the European Parliament many of the concerns have been addressed. It is clear they have not been addressed. The witnesses may have done so already, but maybe they can take the specific ones they believe have not been addressed.

We are all working in very difficult circumstances at the moment. Will the witnesses speak to how their work and the representation they do for people is impacted when incendiary language or figures that are not based on data or evidence are put into the public domain?