Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will try not to repeat some of those points, but I raised the migration issue with the Minister of State. I apologise for repeating myself, but he stated at this meeting that it was one of the highest priorities on the agenda. Yesterday, we discussed the relocation of 160,000 people. To date, only 322 have been relocated across Europe. Hardly a weekend goes by in which 322 people do not arrive in Italy, Greece or so on. The Minister of State mentioned that there were inefficiencies in the system, but that is not the case. It is broken. It is not working. I accept his assertion that we must address this issue again, but whoever takes over the leadership might have a different view of the matter and it will be pushed to the side.

The front-line states of Greece and Italy are dealing with this day to day, but there is a lack of solidarity with them. Ireland has agreed to take 4,000 people, which is a substantial number, but there is a blockage in the system. For the life of me, I do not know what is causing it. When people were debating the numbers involved, several of us gathered together on a cross-party basis because we did not want it to be used to promote the racism card or negativity. We tried to be positive. The various groups that were supportive of it have decided to gather again. Something is wrong. Clearly, we are out of the loop as politicians, but many of the groups that support relocation are also out of it. I do not get a sense of what is going wrong across Europe. I am not criticising the Minister of State, but I do not understand this problem.

The proposed Brexit seems to be based on fear. Fraud and abuse have been referenced, but are there statistics to support claims of a widespread abuse of the system? If it is happening across Europe, no one will oppose a change, but I do not believe that it is happening to the extent the British public has been led to believe is the case by tabloids and so on. Stirring up this trouble is easy. What are the red line issues for Ireland in this regard? One contentious demand is that workers from other EU countries be required to wait four years after moving to Britain before they can claim benefits. What is Ireland's position on this demand? It is a reasonable question.

Does the Minister of State view Brexit as a divisive issue in respect of the North? Yesterday, I referred to the strength of the majority English vote. People in Scotland and Wales are clearly opposed to a Brexit and a poll was conducted in the North. The majority in England will determine the outcome. The figure that I cited yesterday was high at 53% in support of a withdrawal. I am worried. There will be an impact on the island of Ireland. The British Government will not replace the moneys being invested in many communities in the North.

According to media reports, Poland is willing to trade its welfare rights for UK support for NATO bases. Poland joined the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia as the Visegrad Group to oppose discriminatory welfare restrictions. It is changing its tune. Will this have an impact on the negotiations?

I have asked many questions, so I might wait for the answers.