Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, Chairman. Abraham Lincoln once famously said of one of his generals, "McClellan has the slows."

One of the criticisms I would level at the European Union and the United Nations is that Europe had the slows in terms of dealing with this crisis. We have had difficulty dealing with the economic crisis. We took a long time to recognise its scale, depth and duration but eventually we got it right. Similarly, in relation to this crisis, Europe has the slows, and so has the global community. The United States and others only recognised in recent times that there was any responsibility or culpability on their part.

I compliment the countries on the front line that have made huge efforts to deal with the situation and to help out because when people are fleeing before whatever enemy, they like to see a friendly face somewhere. They do not like to see the barbed wire, barricades or glass wall and they will remember it forever. That could have serious implications for the people of Europe and globally at a later stage.

I say to the European Union that, if possible, it should co-ordinate its efforts to the extent that even if we do not have one voice that we have a general thrust of opinion in terms of how to deal with the situation. That includes the regularisation of processing outside of the European Union to bring about order. Why should unfortunate people, some of whom are suffering, who have come from war zones or are starving, be subjected to more torture by being kept virtually in cages while awaiting processing?

The United Nations needs to think very seriously about its responsibilities and how to deal with a situation of this magnitude and nature in a more meaningful way, as opposed to treating the symptoms.