Mr. Enda O'Neill:

I will mention a few of the provisions around detention. I think it was before the Deputy arrived that I mentioned the border procedures do not have provisions on detention itself. The usual conditions around detention that are set out in the reception conditions directive would still be the rules that apply. We can say that in Ireland there are currently in the law a number of provisions around detention that are not usually used, so much will come down to implementation of the decisions of the State in terms of how it intends to implement it. There is a danger that the way the border procedures are established could amount to de facto detention if the conditions are very restrictive.

There are also a number of provisions in the pact that provide some safeguards. Members states are obliged to set up a national human rights monitoring mechanism that looks at the screening or border procedures to ensure human rights are complied with. There is a provision that cases too complex to be considered in a border procedure are directed to the regular procedure. Equally, for vulnerable applicants like people with special needs, if they cannot be provided with those supports in the accelerated procedure then they must be diverted to the regular procedure as well. Those are some of the safeguards in the pact, but I will pass over to some of the other witnesses to speak to their concerns.