Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 7 February 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs
EU General Affairs Council Meeting: Discussion
10:00 am
Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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If the Chairperson is not prepared to allow this question, that is fine.
I will move onto the EU migration pact which is also coming before us. Ireland has an opt in or opt out option on this. I have huge concerns in this regard. The Minister, Deputy Burke, stated that it might not be up and running until June 2026.
Yet, the Government came out last week and said it was going to have processing centres and 12-week asylum processing. We know that is not going to happen in 2024 or 2025, and it will possibly happen in 2026. The processing centres have to be built for asylum seekers. They get detained for up to 12 weeks and that can be extended if there is a crisis.