Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. I apologise if my questions are repetitive. I was addressing other issues in the Dáil. Opting into this pact greatly undermines Ireland's democratic sovereignty by giving exclusive power to the EU to decide on our immigration policies. The pact includes a mandatory solidarity mechanism, forcing countries to choose between accepting migrants or paying hefty sums into a common fund.

A question I wish to pose to the Minister at the outset is whether she will publish the advice received from the Attorney General regarding opting in to this pact. We know the saga that went on before the referendums, and we see it now. According to the pact, a minimum of 30,000 asylum seekers would be distributed annually throughout the bloc. Some member states have to pay up to €20,000 for every migrant they reject. Slovakia has calculated that amount and estimated the cost would be €10 million annually. Have the Minister and her Department done any calculations concerning what the cost implications would be for our public purse here in respect of the numbers we would refuse if we opted into this pact? Would that be an annual figure?

Are we being unduly penalised because of our inflated GDP figures due to the contribution of multinationals? Thankfully, we are lucky in that respect at the moment. If the situation changes, however, how are we going to pay this kind of money? We have seen the Polish Prime Minister declare that his government would refuse to accept any relocated asylum seekers under this pact. In simple terms, this pact is viewed as an invitation to millions of migrants to come to Europe.

I refer to opting in and not having meaningful debate. In responding to the last question from Senator Keogan, the Minister said there has been exhaustive and extensive background work here. Why, then, are only three and a half hours of debate on the matter being allowed at this committee? There will obviously be the debate in the Dáil, but it will be restricted as well. The stark reality is that the EU migration pact designed to streamline migration policies and address the challenges of asylum seekers means that Ireland is ceding control over our borders and immigration procedures. It sticks out as plain as the nose on my face that we are ceding our sovereignty. The pact represents a significant erosion of national sovereignty, synthesising migration policies and imposing quotas on member states.

That will result in non-elected EU institutions undermining our ability to make independent decisions. That, for me anyway, clearly sets off alarm bells. As a democrat elected by the Irish people, I firmly believe, with every fibre of my being, that preserving sovereignty is paramount, even in the face of shared migration challenges. For Ireland to legally opt in to the obligations contained in the regulatory framework underpinning the pact, the matter has to be the subject of independent decisions by resolution taken separately by each House of the Oireachtas.

Will we see the Attorney General's advice? Why is there the indecent haste? If it has been so many years in gestation and there has so much exhaustive work, how come we are rushing it? It went through the Dáil last week without debate and now it is in committee for three and a half hours at most. I would have thought something like this would deserve much more extensive assessment, evaluation, questions and answers. Can the Minister please answer those questions?