John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Mr. Shotter for his informative briefing this morning. I will begin with a few comments. Mr. Shotter stated that we are not in the middle of a crisis such as we saw in 2018 and 2016. That may be true but the figures published on deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean still show that it is very much a crisis. This year alone, it is estimated that 979 migrants have died while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. In 2019, the number of deaths amounted to 1,900. It is reckoned that between 2014 and 2018, for instance, approximately 12,000 people drowned and were never found. It is still very much a crisis and there has been a failure by the international community to deal with the entire migrant crisis.

At this point , I want to say "Well done" to the Naval Service which, like many other groups and organisations, and NGOs, went to the Mediterranean. The Naval Service helped save in excess of 8,500 lives in the Mediterranean. It is important to acknowledge that and say "Well done" to all involved.

Unfortunately, the migrant crisis came to the fore again during the summer with the fire in the Mória refugee camp on Lesbos. It again highlighted the failure of the international community and the European community to deal with the issue.

I welcome the fact that a new pact is being looked at. It is a long time coming.

I have two questions. Back in February-March, as part of a broader geopolitical play, we saw Turkey open its borders and more than 35,000 migrants flooded into Greece. That breached the 2016 pact in which Turkey was to get €6 billion in return for curbing migrant flows. On this pact, what is being considered to stop the issue of migrants and refugees being used as a political football by countries such as Turkey?

In 2018, for example, the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, committed to Ireland taking in 36 unaccompanied minors. To date, we have taken in only eight. Those 36 were supposed to have been taken in by the end of 2019. Listening to Mr. Shotter's briefing this morning, he talked about flexibility and solidarity being compulsory. What in this new pact ties a country in? What if they make a commitment, as in this example, to take in unaccompanied minors and then fail to comply and follow through on that, much to the annoyance of many organisations right across the board? Once countries sign up and agree to take in asylum seekers or, in this case, unaccompanied minors, what is there to ensure that they follow through?