Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations.

Many strong points have been made. I refer to the issue of gender, building on the points made by Lynn Boylan MEP. There are specific gender concerns in terms of the European response as well. For example, the European Women's Lobby has produced a strong pan-European response, which is worth considering in examining the specific issues relating to gender

On the issue of unaccompanied minors, there has been a push from within society in Ireland to expedite the State's response in that regard.

The EU-Turkey deal has been raised extensively in the Seanad because concern has been building. The committee may discuss the deal in the future and press for a review of it. It was pressed for strongly during the final week of the Seanad term.

I would like to make a practical suggestion regarding the letter to be sent by the committee. As well as the strong and useful points put forward by Ms Keatinge, a few strong points have been made by committee members, particularly in regard to Ireland's seeking to expedite its response in advance of the summit in September and at least have a clear track. The proposal to transfer 40 refugees every four weeks is not adequate. Deputy O'Brien suggested a round-table discussion with NGOs. The letter should include suggestions about expediting the State's response and the potential for a civil society round-table in advance of the summit. They might just build on the other suggestions.

I do not know if the EU-Turkey deal should be the subject of a separate letter. That is for committee members to decide but we need to know what is happening regarding Ireland's response to this within Europe and what is the European response.