Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Like me, the Minister would have been proud of the words of the President, Michael D. Higgins, when he was in Lebanon regarding Europe's failure to deal with the refugee crisis and the unacceptable catastrophe of thousands of people drowning in the Mediterranean. Italy and Malta cannot be expected to shoulder the responsibility. This is a European responsibility. I note that there has been confirmation from the Minister for Justice and Equality that we will receive 300 refugees, but we can do more. While this is not the Minister's area of responsibility, I suppose he will work in partnership with the Ministers for Justice and Equality and Foreign Affairs and Trade. I urge the three of them to ensure that Ireland does as much as it can and shoulders its part of the responsibility so that we can bring an end to this heartbreaking situation in which so many people have lost their lives in desperation. Consider our own history of emigration. We are the only country in the world that has a smaller population than we had in the early 1800s. Of all of the countries in Europe, one would imagine that we would do our best to support the effort to give safe refuge to people fleeing appalling scenarios.

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