Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

As we all know, the approval of the Oireachtas is required under Article 29.4.6° of the Constitution to participate in the adoption of this agreement. The approach by the Government is yet again a mixture of arrogance and incompetence. As a Member of this House I was unaware of anything being lodged in the Oireachtas Library until I heard of it this morning. I did not see briefing material, which arrived late last night, until this morning. It is clear the Government's contempt for this House continues to grow. On the day the Taoiseach missed Leaders' Questions the Government is putting this new deal on EU-US air passenger information to the Dáil for approval without adequate notice.

I have concerns about aspects of this agreement which are shared by the two previous speakers, but I will not go over that ground again. This is not in any true sense a bilateral agreement as its provisions are one-sided. This agreement does not put the same responsibility on US carriers travelling to Europe as it places on those going in the opposite direction. I put it to the House that terrorism is not limited by geography. There is a threat from west to east just as there is from east to west. This issue should be addressed by common agreement between the European Union and the United States.

However, having said that, we must recognise the fight against terrorism is one no country can opt out of. We have pressing responsibilities to protect our citizens and to work with like-minded countries to negate the real threat terrorism and extremism pose to the world. The recent attempts at terrorism outrages in the United Kingdom show the continuing danger terrorism poses in Europe. We should not forget the role played by aircraft in the terror attacks in 2001 and the more recent foiled plot to detonate explosives on a number of transatlantic flights. If these atrocities had gone ahead, countless lives would have been lost and Irish citizens would undoubtedly have been among the casualties.

The Dáil and the people of Ireland need to know that this agreement strikes the right balance between people's privacy and public safety. This contemptible approach to proper Dáil scrutiny is not helpful. The Government is letting down the people who elected it in this regard. Bilateral agreements usually involve exchange, but this one contradicts the intention of fighting those who are targeting western society because the information is going only one way. Nobody has a monopoly on intelligence gathering on wrongdoers. We should all be working together on this issue.

This issue goes deeper than the question of bilateral agreements. If there was justice and a sense of fair play in regard to the Middle East, there would be less of a threat from terrorism. We only have to look at the recent record of the Government in regard to the Middle East and, in particular, Palestine.

At Question Time yesterday we dealt with the withdrawal of funding to the Palestinian Authority by the European Union in May 2006. Even though I am a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs, at no stage was I able to get an explanation or a report from either the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs. I tried to get an explanation of our stance on the withdrawal of that funding through both committees, as did other colleagues. That action was disgraceful. It undermined the democratically elected Government in that area and we have reaped the whirlwind since. We have seen the authority of Fatah undermined and the resurgence of Hamas. Part of Palestine, the Gaza Strip, is now in the control of an extreme organisation because the authority and credibility of the more reasonable people were undermined by the withdrawal of funding by the European Union.

This Parliament, through its committees, could not get an explanation on Ireland's position in this regard. We got mealy-mouthed token gestures in the form of statements but we could not get explanations. Coupled with the decision by Israel to withhold the taxes gathered on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, the result was hardship and death in that part of the world. These are the types of actions that are breeding terrorism in the Middle East. Until we extend justice to that area and get to the root of what is happening in the Middle East, we will reap the whirlwind.

The Government's foreign policy on Iran and nuclear power is, again, subordinate to European Union foreign policy. We allowed France, Germany and the United Kingdom, two of which are nuclear powers, to work on behalf of the European Union and Ireland in dealing with the development of the Iranian nuclear industry. That should not happen. Again, we cannot get proper explanations from the Ministers who represent this country at EU level on our involvement in the decision-making process. Our foreign policy now appears to be subordinate to European Union policy, which is dictated by the bigger powers within the European Union.

We should learn a number of lessons from the events of recent days in west Cork. They show we have a soft underbelly in our country. We have a coastline that is open to those who are importing drugs and, if the opportunity were to arise, arms and terrorists. We must live up to our responsibilities. There needs to be a joint European approach to European coastlines.

I referred earlier to the recent incidents in the United Kingdom. These events contain a lesson for us also. The United Kingdom's integration policy on immigrants has been faulty. It has not worked. As a result people there feel they are strangers in a foreign land. These people are coming under the influence of external forces. We have seen the result of that in London and Glasgow in recent days. People who were living and working in Britain are coming under the influence of sinister forces from the Middle East. We must not repeat the mistakes made in the United Kingdom. We must develop an effective policy on the integration of people who come to work and live here.

I accept the Government has appointed a Minister of State with responsibility for integration but I question the motive behind that policy. It could have more to do with winning the influence of those people who are coming to this country to work with a view to the forthcoming local elections as they would have a right to vote. Deputy Kenny, the leader of the Fine Gael Party, called for a national debate and action on immigration. He referred to the need to examine the issue of integration. My party's view is that it is about time we focused on immigration, immigrant rights and responsibilities and that we must manage integration in a way that keeps Ireland safe. We must ensure immigration improves rather than threatens our standard of living. We also have a responsibility to ensure people who come here to live and work must be made welcome and are not exploited.

We must respect their rights and traditions, as well as their culture and history. At the same time however, we must ensure that when such people come to live here, they do not become ghettoised. We must avoid the mistakes that have been made in the United Kingdom.

These issues must be addressed. Despite my reservations about the impact on personal privacy of this agreement, the overall point is that the bigger picture must be considered and all weapons at our disposal to deal with the threats of terrorism must be used. In addition, the core issues that breed terrorists and create terrorist acts must be examined and this must be done sooner rather than later.

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