Dáil debates

Tuesday, 22 March 2016

European Council Meeting: Statements

 

12:10 pm

Photo of Seán CroweSeán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I, too, want to be associated with the condolences to the families of those killed and injured in Brussels this morning. These attacks bring into sharp focus why millions of people are fleeing the violence, conflict and terror in Syria, Iraq and other parts of the world. The system by which these people and their families can get asylum, protection and safety is broken. We urgently need to fix it and create a system that will deliver a legal pathway for these vulnerable people.

A 70-page report was released by the European Court of Auditors on Thursday, 17 March, on the day the European Council meeting began. Unsurprisingly, it found that EU-funded migration projects in north Africa and eastern Europe have not achieved their goals and have largely ignored human rights. Was this element discussed at the meeting? It is another damning indictment of the EU's abject failures on the growing humanitarian and refugee crisis. The report noted that the return and readmission projects failed to deliver primarily because they were regarded by the receiving countries as part of the EU's security policy and that EU states neglected to prepare migrants for their return home. Due to a complete lack of oversight and accountability, the auditors have no real idea how much of the total €1.4 billion over the period was spent.

Jobs, growth and competitiveness was an important subject during the European Council meeting. Unfortunately, but again not surprisingly, it focused on completing the economic and monetary union, which will only further undermine the economic sovereignty of member states and try further to lock them into the disastrous economic and austerity models that have wreaked havoc on those on low and middle incomes across the EU.

My party colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, has secured documents released under the Freedom of Information Act that suggest that millions of euro, which were provided to Ireland through the European globalisation adjustment fund, EGF, had to be returned to the European Commission unspent. These funds were supposed to be spent on supporting workers who lost their jobs as a consequence of globalisation and €2.49 million was to be allocated for the 424 redundant Lufthansa Technik workers in Rathcoole, County Dublin. Considerably less than half of the Commission’s €2.49 million contribution will be spent, while the remaining €1.5 million will be returned to Brussels. Why is this money not being fully utilised and spent on education and training, not only for workers who have lost their jobs at Lufthansa Technik, but also to support hundreds, if not thousands, of other young people from Dublin Mid-West and Dublin South-West who are not in education, training or employment?

On Sunday, 6 March, Ibrahim Halawa's trial was postponed for the 13th time and is supposedly to take place on 26 June. He has been detained without charge for more than 32 months, and has increasingly faced inhumane and unacceptable treatment. Did the Taoiseach specifically raise Mr. Halawa’s case at the European Council meeting and did he seek the fully fledged support of other EU Heads of State to free this Irish and EU citizen? There are expressly clear grounds for Ibrahim’s immediate release under Egyptian law, so-called law 140. Has the Taoiseach encouraged any other EU Heads of State to lobby the Egyptian President for Ibrahim’s immediate release under this law?

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