Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We are debating this matter under the shadow of the attacks in Brussels this morning. There is obviously a connection.

There is a connection in the sense that the wars that are flaming in Syria and Iraq and involve extremist Islamic groups are extending into our own Continent. We must question what is happening on the Continent on that wider scale. One point that we should agree on is that in our response in defence of our European beliefs and values, we should stick to the rule of law and the agreement on the use of international collaboration and follow the proper protocols and legal mechanisms as set out in the various conventions on human rights. We should stand by these as a way of defeating those who believe they can justify the killing of innocent civilians.

By this yardstick, the deal that was agreed between Europe and Turkey and signed off on at the recent European Council meeting fails the test. Europe is not living up to the ideals for which we stand. This weakens rather than strengthens us and does a major injustice and potential harm to the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing turmoil in the Middle East and elsewhere.

I am speaking as a member of the European Green Party, which approaches this issue collectively. We regret deeply that a legal agreement has not been signed, only a statement that is not subject to parliamentary oversight in the European Parliament or nationally. We can discuss it but we do not have a mechanism to challenge it legally or question its provisions. As other Deputies mentioned, it is a question of signing up to the statement and hoping that those who will be refused access to our borders will find safe havens in the so-called hot spots or Turkey, to which we are consigning people. We are saying "No" to that right of asylum, that right to arrive on our shores and seek refuge. These people are coming from the cradle of our civilisation. While the level of war and turmoil in the Middle East is unprecedented, this situation is not new and has been around since Abraham, Jacob and Moses migrated. Homer travelled those same waters. That migration is a central part of us. I had not realised something until I read about it recently but the iconography that we look at down the road in the Book of Kells stems from a Syrian tradition. While the situation is distant in some way and we as an island are separated from it, we are not removed in every sense. We have a responsibility to look after those who are fleeing.

Particularly reprehensible in the approach that is being taken is the differentiation between those fleeing different countries. Most are seeking asylum on the basis of need and yet Syrians are treated differently from those fleeing Afghanistan, Somalia and other countries that are in deep turmoil. This approach will not be effective. As much as we might try to police our borders and restrict access to new arrivals, they will find other paths, as we have seen from the hundreds of thousands of people queuing up in Libya and the recent arrivals in Sicily as opposed to taking a Greek route. The answer to this cannot be fortress Europe. We must maintain the standards and rights by which we live and extend them to those who are fleeing if we are to try to dampen the immediate crisis.

There are concerns about the increasingly restrictive administration in Turkey but we should look to our own door and what has happened in Europe. The way that Europe approached Turkish accession in the past ten years is coming back to haunt us because we did not deal with it as a proper community. We took last-minute decisions under which a promised accession process was withdrawn without agreement or a common European approach. Our problems are partly caused by the breakdown in our collaborative approach, which has led to individual deals and member states trying to manage crises on a case-by-case basis.

I will revert to the Taoiseach's statement in this regard. The Council meeting considered a wide range of issues beyond just that of migration. The Taoiseach also referred to the February Council meeting on which he was unable to report at the time. His report on that meeting was extensive. That Council saw an international legal agreement to try to placate British interests and arrange cover for Prime Minister Cameron on the Brexit issue. Britain's approach of distancing itself from Europe and opting out of a common European approach to refugees and other issues is shaping the whole European approach. There is a concern about the nature of the direction that Britain wants to take internationally and that we are aligning ourselves too closely to it.

I noted the Taoiseach's comments on an issue that will arise for consideration in the House in the coming months, that being, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP, negotiations. According to the Taoiseach, there was agreement "to accelerate work on international trade agreements, including the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership, TTIP". At this uncertain point in the world, some of the underlying assumptions and ideology that have applied for the past 34 years - that trade must trump justice and the needs of international corporations must be looked after for us to be able to progress and develop effective economies - are no longer true or fair and need to be questioned. The other Deputies on this side of the House who spoke today were right. Instead of continuing to tie ourselves to a British Conservative world view, be it on migration, trade or environmental standards, we should be willing to stand up, question it and state that different models of economics and justice are necessary.

I wish to discuss the two other elements that the Taoiseach raised. He referred to the need for increased investment in the EU, as set out in the Council conclusions. He also mentioned that the country report on Ireland recognised the need for investment. However, he passed over a matter that is of critical interest to the House and needs to be debated in the context of our EU engagement. The European Commission's country report was damning of our lack of long-term investment in basic infrastructure such as housing, water and transport. The Taoiseach claimed that we all knew this but he failed to recognise the Commission's statement that the Government's capital plan was inadequate. He glossed over this even though it was an issue at the European Council.

I am covering many issues in a short contribution. Last but not least, the Taoiseach mentioned the reference at the European Council meeting to the recent Paris agreement and the need for governments to sign up to it. While that is true, of concern was the EU's inability to show leadership and act on the agreement as opposed to saying that we should sign up to it. These issues are connected. The migration in Syria that started with the war five years ago came on the back of a stressed country suffering an extreme drought. According to all of the analysis from the best climate scientists, such extreme weather conditions will drive mass migrations from India, Pakistan, the Middle East and north Africa in the future. We must prepare for this. The inaction and lack of debate and engagement on this climate issue at the recent Council meeting show a continuation of short-term and narrow thinking that does not address the fundamental causes of the problems.

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