Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I will make some comments about the EU migration and asylum pact. This pact strengthens fortress Europe, and what has fortress Europe done? More than 3,000 human beings lost their lives in the Mediterranean last year. Between the years 1993 and 2023 there were more than 50,000 documented refugee deaths as a direct result of fortress Europe, which the Government and its allies in Europe now want to strengthen. Why do people flee their homelands and travel often dangerous journeys to come here and to other European countries? It is because of war, extreme climate situations and extreme poverty. I saw a brilliant film recently called "Io Capitano" in which two young Senegalese lads leave their home village to try to get to Europe. It really gave an insight into the journey and the traumas people have to go through. The EU migration and asylum pact will not stop refugees from coming to Europe. It will just make it harder for them to do so, and it will strengthen the illegal traffickers. While I object to the pact as a whole, I want to raise some specific points I object to. Refugees will be forced to stay in, or be sent to, so-called safe third countries. These externalisation policies have already led to migrants being abused in Tunisia and tortured in Libya. The pact allows for extended periods of detention of between three and six months prior to deportation and in some circumstances, even up to 12 months. An increase in the use of biometrics and surveillance will even include fingerprinting children as young as six years of age. These are measures that have been adopted to placate the European far right and far-right voters in advance of the European elections. Europe's so-called centre parties are adopting important parts of the programme of the far right and handing a victory to the far right in that regard.

As I am caught for time, I will finish with a question. They are not in the House but they will be watching and I think they need to answer it. The Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament not only overwhelmingly voted for this pact, it played a key role in negotiating and drafting it. How can the Labour Party stand over that and defend that kind of capitulation to a racist agenda?

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