Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Commissioner and thank him for his presentation which gives us an opportunity to give our point of view on matters. I do not doubt the commitment of the Commissioner or that of his team to tackling what is the biggest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. The theme of his presentation is solidarity which is sorely lacking in the global response. I agree with him on the need for a global response. However, there is also a need for a European response.

Prior to the meeting the Commissioner met the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. I am spokesperson on foreign affairs and trade for the largest Opposition party which has a deep concern about the EU-Turkey arrangement and the EU migrant partnership frameworks. Our fundamental belief is that the arrangement undermines the rights of refugees and migrants. While the Commissioner has mentioned it as the solution - there is a practical element to it - through the EU-Turkey arrangement we have abrogated our responsibility as member states and citizens of the European Union. I will give an example. I will also have a few questions to ask.

There are 6.5 million people who are internally displaced in Syria, while 65 million people are displaced worldwide. They are all individuals. About 13 months ago a young child, Alan Kurdi, drowned and his body was washed up on the beach in Bodrum. We are all familiar with the pictures. At the time every EU member state, including Ireland, responded by promising to take in 3,000, 4,000, 10,000 or 15,000 people. The public in Ireland is way ahead of the Government in its response. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade might have told the Commissioner that Ireland had taken in one unaccompanied child under the EU settlement and relocation programme. That is not solidarity with the peoples of the Middle East, including Syria and Iraq.

My concern is that, at a European level, instead of relocation and resettlement to other EU states, the EU-Turkey and the EU migrant partnership framework arrangements are the new deal. They may form part of it, but I would like the Commissioner's view on that, particularly in light of our concerns and especially in relation to talking about Turkey as a safe haven. I do not believe Turkey is a safe haven or a safe country.

I note the EU was looking recently at a framework arrangement with Afghanistan to relocate 80,000 refugees to that country. The Commissioner might be familiar with the leaked memo and I ask him to comment on that. It appeared from the content of that leaked EU memo that there was a stick being held over Afghanistan in relation to aid. The agreement was made in respect of so-called third country arrangements. That is something about which I have a concern.

Will the Commissioner comment on how many other third country arrangements are being negotiated? I believe it is upwards of 16. I am not saying it is not part of the solution and I do not want to be completely negative. I am aware that Europe, all the NGOs, other countries and thousands of people are responding and doing their level best, but I do not want the Commissioner to leave Ireland today with a view that there is agreement among the political representatives in Ireland that third country arrangements are the way forward. Fianna Fáil does not believe that. I believe it has shifted the problem to other countries.

The Commissioner mentioned 89% of displaced people are seeking safe haven in developing countries. We are a developed country and our response to the crisis has been to take fewer than 400 refugees between relocation and resettlement - less than 10% of what we said we would do. I would ask the Commissioner where individual sovereign states' commitments on relocation and resettlement fit in with the migrant partnership framework towards which the EU is moving. Will he say which member states have met or are likely to meet their targets?

Our real concern is we want a co-ordinated response that is right in moral terms. It is right to respect refugees' rights and to give them a safe haven, and third country arrangements do not offer that. It is a diminution of refugees' and migrants' rights. As the Commissioner will be aware, we as a country understand it well from our own history. Where does the Commissioner see this moving to?

On Syria and the situation in Aleppo, I was interested to hear about the moves there might be this week to try to get more aid into the city. Obviously, we roundly condemn the attacks that were carried out on the Red Crescent and the UN aid convoys there. What is the Commissioner's view on a sustainable ceasefire? The situation in Aleppo is simply barbaric. It was discussed in the Dáil. My party leader raised it on Tuesday. It cannot be allowed to continue.

When I was younger and studying history, I looked at what countries in Europe and elsewhere did as they stood around and watched during the Second World War. I was told that would never happen again. During the crisis in Yugoslavia we went back to concentration camps right on our doorstep and which we could see on television, and the response was slow. It does not appear to me that we have learnt lessons. With the Irish Naval Service, whose personnel I commend on their humanitarian work in saving refugees from the Mediterranean, we see real solidarity and real impacts. I am fully aware that the Commissioner does not have a magic wand, but the solution is not to throw money at this problem and push these refugees into states such as Turkey.