Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I am opposed to this motion being sent to committee without debate. We must take on board that there has been no substantive address of the second generation Schengen information system. Indeed, as we have highlighted in the House, a significant number of related EU measures have gone through the Houses of the Oireachtas without even address at committee.

Both the Tánaiste and his predecessor made public commitments to schedule a full debate of this area which were put on the record following the French and Dutch referenda on the EU constitution. Yet, when this goes to committee, and if it returns to the House, the reality is that the content of the Council decision will define the content of the legislation, so it will be too late to truly influence the structuring of our position.

It is imperative that we have the debate immediately. The commitment made by both the current Tánaiste and the previous Tánaiste should be honoured in the House today or at a rescheduled date given the importance of what is involved, namely, the addressing of the issues of police and judicial co-operation, which we support in principle——

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