Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The current political and economic crisis being witnessed in neighbouring states close to the European Union has resulted in a new immigration crisis on our borders. At least 350,000 migrants crossed the EU’s borders in January-August 2015, compared with just 280,000 during 2014.

This is an EU level crisis which requires an EU level solution. Thus far, Europe has failed the test of providing a comprehensive response to the crisis. Ireland, having now agreed to accept 4,000 applicants, is in the top three countries of the EU as a proportion of our population for receiving immigrants from this crisis. We welcome the Government’s decision in this regard, although it was slow to react to events initially. However, we have yet to see a detailed, fully funded plan from the Department of Justice and Equality as to where and how exactly the people seeking refuge in Europe will be accommodated here. I would appreciate if the Minister could outline what is planned at present at the soonest opportunity. It is important that a proper plan is in place to ensure full integration of refugees into Irish communities across the country once regular status is given to those seeking asylum.

It is obvious that the distribution of refugees must be shared proportionately within the EU to ensure that those seeking asylum are properly catered for. Some of the approaches taken by other member states have been shameful to say the least. Hungary, in particular, has not acted in the spirit required to help in this crisis. Its government has called for European forces to take control of Greece’s borders, for example. We believe many of our neighbours within the Union could do more in accepting an increased number of applications. All member states need to step up and show compassion faced by the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. Ultimately, it is important that the EU works on an international level to address the wars and instability driving the crisis. Ending the civil war in Syria must be an international priority. As a neutral country, it is beyond us to take an active approach in a military or defensive sphere. That is our tradition and one which has served us well in the past. We must, however, be active at institutional levels within the EU and the UN to encourage a resolution to the current crisis in Syria and the Middle East in general.

The last EU leaders’ summit in September appeared to act as a fudge and failed to come up with common policies to solve one of the greatest humanitarian crisis we have witnessed on this Continent in decades. It was clear that our heads of government have continuously failed to contain and manage the migration emergency. I understand that the emergency summit in Brussels decided to allocate €1 billion to aid agencies and transit countries hosting millions of Syrian refugees. Some have accused the EU of seeking to pay off Turkey to deal with the immigration crisis. This is not a long-term policy of which anyone within the EU can be proud. It still appears as though many in the Union are sticking their heads in the sand and hoping the problems will go away. The challenges will not be dealt with until the core reasons for the mass migration of people who are in great desperation are addressed. The crisis in Syria and across much of northern Africa and the Middle East has been ongoing for almost five years now. The failure of the international community to address the instability, war and destruction in the region is lamentable. Today, hundreds of thousands of people are dead and millions of people are displaced due to this failure.

The EU must have a comprehensive set of policies in place in order that countries receiving migrants are able to deal with this in a timely and humanitarian fashion. This is imperative to ensure the principles of freedom, security and justice are realised for those seeking a safe haven, but also for countries receiving immigrants. With regard to the motions, it is important that member states recognise the great difficulties currently facing southern Mediterranean countries in trying to cope with the refugee crisis. As stated in the Council decision, to which the motions relates, Article 78(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, TFEU, allows for the EU to deal with emergency situations characterised by a sudden inflow of nationals of third countries into member states. This is an important provision and one which reflects the principle of solidarity, which is central to the EU’s success. We will support this motion in that spirit of solidarity.

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