Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I want to start by expressing solidarity and sympathy with the people of Brussels following the awful and outrageous attacks that have taken place in an airport and at a train station there this morning. All of our hearts, minds and thoughts go to the people of that multicultural and cosmopolitan city, regardless of where they come from. Our thoughts are with them and their families. Our thoughts also need to be with the people of Istanbul, where a bombing earlier this month cost at least four people their lives and led to many others being seriously injured. It is important also to mention last month's car bomb in Baghdad, as a result of which 70 people lost their lives, because it has gone completely unmentioned and unnoticed by most people on the planet. All people's lives are valuable, regardless of whether they live in Brussels or Baghdad. We need to take note of that. All of these people are victims of terrorism and war. I just want to make a comment on that. I believe that, at present, the world is locked into a cycle of war on terrorism. There seems to be no break in that cycle. In fact, matters seem to be escalating all the time.

One of the priorities of any leader in the world today must be to find a way of breaking the cycle of countries engaging in occupation, war and intervention in parts of the world in which they have no business. This is the message that should go out from a so-called neutral country such as Ireland through the European Council. In this regard, Ireland could lead by example by refusing to allow Shannon Airport or any other utility in this country to be used for intervention and imperialist activity in other parts of the world.

On the substantive issue before us, perhaps the Taoiseach, Deputy Kenny, will say whether, at the European Council meeting - where, according to himself, he is well respected - he indicated, with as much vigour as did David Cameron in representing his people, that owing to the serious, extraordinary and unprecedented housing crisis in Ireland, the details of which we will discuss further later this afternoon, although I will mention that there were 700 families, including 1,500 children, in emergency accommodation last night, we will have to build at least 5,000 social houses each year for the next ten years, such that we will have to break its fiscal rules and do whatever it takes to ensure the human rights of our population. Has the Taoiseach ever done that? If not, why not? Would the Taoiseach not take a leaf out of David Cameron's book - although the latter's motives are more selfish - and determinedly represent the people of this country in terms of address of this crisis?

Ireland has promised to take in 4,000 refugees. However, it has so far taken in fewer than 300 refugees. While the knee-jerk reaction will be for people to ask why we are taking in refugees when we cannot look after or accommodate our own people, the response must be that we have to look after both the people of this country and the refugees in the current crisis. I have many friends in Syria. It is a country I have visited many times, and I loved it. While I have heard recently from many of my friends there, I have not heard from many others in the last four or five years. Some of them are stuck in the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus, where people are literally dying of famine. We have no idea of the suffering, treachery, rape, plunder, pillage, murder and terror visited on those people by proxy armies from Russia, Saudi Arabia and the Syrian regime. These people, in their droves, risk drowning, misery or being encamped on borders for months on end with young children, and losing their families at sea, because that threat still exists, yet they are hopeful of a future for their families.

To say that the deal with Turkey with regard to the refugee crisis is any more than horse-trading is probably being a bit kind to that deal. According to The Financial Times, Turkey will get €6 billion, visa-free travel for its citizens and accelerated European Union membership. However, this does not mean that Turkey will comply with the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. It already has 3 million refugees inside its borders, most of whom are not living in organised camps but are scattered in towns, villages and rural areas, living in deep poverty. It is being said that Turkey is capable of taking in more refugees and that Europe is over-loaded, but the contrary is the case: Europe is one of the richest parts of this planet, but it has not done its fair share in taking in refugees.

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