Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Shotter. I have a few questions and I will try to be as brief as possible.

With regard to the debate and conversations prior to those on the future of Europe, could Mr. Shotter indicate how the debate on migration should be factored in? Should it have the same prominence as the green transformation and the rule of law, for example, in upcoming deliberations before those on the future of Europe?

I like Mr. Shotter's jigsaw apparatus. We sometimes get a little disillusioned with some of the EU's institutional jargon but, at the same time, jargon is important to get the conversation going. Community should be an integral part of any conversation on migration. The EU has a great track record and footprint in respect of supporting our peace process. In the early 1990s and mid-1990s, a lot of funding was channelled through the peace and reconciliation programme. There were various programs to build up capacity at community and local levels after the conflict. It was basically a question of empowering communities. On migration, are we doing enough to empower communities at local level and to allay genuine fears about the dignity of people looking for asylum and trying to integrate into communities? Are we doing enough to place community and community capacity-building at the heart of our deliberations on migration?

My last point is a general one based on my insights from having been to Jordan and Lebanon. In both countries, around 25% of the people are seeking asylum or are in camps, to one degree or another. Countries such as Uganda facilitate large numbers coming from South Sudan. Are we doing enough to provide pathways for graduate teachers within the EU to work with the Red Cross or United Nations to provide assistance to people in their own countries? We should bear in mind the track record and patterns in this regard. I must put up my own hand in that, in 1995, I went to the Middle East as a teacher, not for the remuneration although an attraction of the Middle East is that teachers get well paid there.

As a young teacher in 1995, had a pathway or opportunity been provided I would rather have had the opportunity to go to Africa to do some support work. Are we providing enough pathways for our European Union graduates to spend time in places like Africa or to help out in dealing with the enormous education needs of people who are seeking asylum and so on?

I thank Mr. Shotter for attending this morning and for his insights and experience in this area, which will be extremely important in mapping out a comprehensive new pathway for the way we deal with migration.