Ms Marissa Ryan:

I wanted to touch a little on migration, given Deputy Durkan's comments. He is right that human rights, as a central and fundamental tenet of the EU's foreign policy, have been completely eroded and undermined by the current failure of the EU to manage the current wave of migration. We, as members of Dóchas, absolutely reject the current discussion that it constitutes a crisis for Europe. It is a crisis for the 3,500 people who died in the Mediterranean over the course of last year and their families. It is a crisis for those stuck within EU borders in freezing conditions with no access to basic services. It is a complete failure of EU member states when the foremost response has been to increase border security and meet people fleeing for their lives with razor wire, as Deputy Durkan mentioned, police brutality in Bulgaria, which we have documented and the use of police dogs.

In terms of a European response and, specifically, Ireland's role within that, I am sure all members are aware that an EU trust fund for Africa was set up during the Valletta EU summit in 2015. We have serious concerns about the role of and management of the trust fund, which appears to be very much focused on preventing people migrating from some of the states from which the majority of people are fleeing at the moment. We have received assurance from Irish Aid that the funds put into the trust fund by the Irish Government will be compliant with Ireland's respect for international human rights. However, we are also cognisant that many of the projects funded under the trust fund focus on border security and migration management. We think the Irish Government needs to play more of a role in Europe. The committee is probably aware of the commentary made yesterday by Peter Sutherland in which he said that the failure to reach a consensus in Europe and the continuing gap in terms of any sort of adequate response to the current wave of migration will only worsen. We are seeing no decline in numbers despite the fact that winter conditions-----