Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I go back to the EU motto and values. Its motto is unity in diversity, while its values include human rights and freedom, human dignity, democracy, equality and the rule of law. I must ask where are these values at times, particularly in dealing with the migration issue. It is almost as if the European Union is circling the wagons and battening down the hatches. It is internal EU policies that seem to be dominating or, in the case of Germany, about compromising in the interests of the ruling coalition. We have the rise of populism and a very disturbing form of nationalism which seems to be dictating policies on migrants. Of course, the irony is that the causes of migration today can be traced back to the old imperialist and colonialist powers of Europe, including Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium and the empires they carved out for themselves in Africa and other countries, with no respect for ethnicity or culture, not to mention land grabs and the grabbing of resources.

I know that migration is a complex issue. The European Council does talk about adopting a comprehensive approach, but such an approach must be allied with a caring approach because we are dealing with people who are extremely vulnerable. On other occasions the European Union will talk about tackling the root causes of migration. We know what they are. They are conflict; climate change which leads to drought and famine; the lack of health services; the abuse of human rights; and poverty. Where are the comprehensive EU plans to deal with these issues?

I know the EU is a massive aid donor but there is a need to look at exactly where multilateral aid is going and the effect it is having, if any, or whether it is being swallowed up in bureaucracy.

There are other issues that relate to the causes of migration. One is war and conflict. We have to ask who benefits from that, and those who benefit are those in the arms trade. Who is in the arms trade? It is those countries that carved out empires in the developing world, now allied with other countries like the US, Russia and Saudi Arabia. It is a powerful irony that the EU will give aid with one hand while some EU countries are sending bombs with the other. We know that if people are living in peace and with respect for human rights, this creates an atmosphere in which people will stay in their countries.

Another reason people will migrate is if they cannot make a decent living in their country, and, of course, tax comes into that. While the EU is making some progress, many of the countries from where migrants are coming are being deprived of badly needed financial resources through tax injustice. I pay tribute to the Irish NGOs doing work on this issue. African countries are faced with very powerful multinational lobbying groups. There is at times a need for capacity building on their side so they can deal with these issues on an equal footing and not be taken advantage of.

I believe Europe strolled into the migrant crisis without a common policy and even without a coherent loose position. Despite this, different academics will tell us that after the events in the Middle East emerged, the migrant crisis could have been predicted and prepared for and the consequences could have been significantly mitigated. Different nations are taking up different positions based on their geography, security fears, labour market issues, the presence of far right parties and, of course, the fear of the electorate. It is sad we are seeing sound, comprehensive, caring policies being displaced. The way the EU is going is very disturbing, with more extreme views than ever before.

I have raised the Libyan issue and the Mediterranean issue. The Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence is meeting Médecins sans Frontières again tomorrow to get an update. It is bizarre that we are supporting a Libyan coastguard that will return people to detention centres in Libya where there is torture, rape, starvation and slavery. It seems that once the flow is stopped at the European borders, it is believed that the problem is solved. However, a real human rights abuse is happening. It is unfair to the Irish Naval Service, which has a very humane record, that it should be seen to be facilitating that kind of human rights abuse with the Libyan coastguard, many of whose members are, as NGOs and migrants themselves will say, worse than the smugglers. At the same time, the smuggling has to be stopped due to the risks people are taking and the amount of money they pay before going on these totally unsafe boats.

We are told the EU will continue to stand by front-line states such as Italy in this respect. I thought it appalling that the boat was stopped from docking in Italy. It was gratifying to hear the voices of ordinary Italian people who were equally horrified at what their Government was doing.

On the positive side, I read in the conclusions that the EU and its member states will rise to the challenge through increased co-operation with countries in Africa and increased development funding. I hope it is co-operation at an equal level, which would be a positive.

There is an agenda for reform of the new common European asylum system. While there will be a report on progress during the October European Council, how will that be measured?

It is said that the Union is taking steps to bolster European defence, enhancing defence investment, capability development and operational readiness. This is the whole militarist agenda coming from the EU which is very disturbing. The Irish Timestoday contains a letter from Mr. Ed Horgan, who is retired from our peacekeeping forces. While he is talking about the UN Security Council, the points he makes are also valid for Ireland's voice in Europe. He asks why, if we want to be a member of the Security Council, we are not bringing something different and promoting our neutrality. Canada and Norway, as he points out, are members of NATO and have been involved in bombing other countries. Is it the case that we are suddenly ashamed of our neutrality? We know of the undermining of our neutrality that is happening at present and we should be more ashamed of that. Mr. Horgan speaks as a former member of our peacekeeping forces and his point is that it is extremely disrespectful to those 88 Irish peacekeeping force members who lost their lives on peacekeeping missions because they were there as part of a neutral Ireland peacekeeping force.

That brings me to the European Defence Fund and the figures on militarisation. I would like to have this clarified. All of these increased figures will come from the EU budget yet we know humanitarian needs are greater than ever. I would hate to see competition between the defence budget and the humanitarian budget. The budget for the research and technology phase until 2019 is €90 million but, from 2021 onwards, that will increase to €4.1 billion. The development phase budget is currently at €500 million for 2019-20 but it will be €8.9 billion after that. Where is this money coming from?

Ireland has to go back to being that independent neutral voice but we are moving ever further away from that. Having been with other Deputies in Syria last week, I believe we can see more than ever that Ireland needs to be that independent neutral voice. There is no good or bad side in war because it is the ordinary people who suffer the most in war. Certainly, allying ourselves with any particular side is not doing any good for our formidable reputation as a humanitarian country with a strong record on human rights. We need to remember this point. Whatever about being on the Security Council, we need to bring something different to our bid to be on it. That comes back to our human rights agenda, our independence and our neutrality.

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