Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this humanitarian crisis. Europe is experiencing one of the most significant influxes of migrants and refugees in its history. Forced by civil war and terror, having lived their lives in darkness and suffering, coming from a regime under which there have been gross human rights abuses, war crimes and crimes against humanity and pulled by the promise of a better life, huge numbers of people have fled the Middle East and Africa, risking their lives along the way. Can any one of us imagine what it is like for those who have to flee their homes, families, communities and countries, with nothing but the clothes on their backs, having had to make the decision of whether to bring their children or leave them and facing huge unknown perils in terms of their physical safety and enormous language and cultural barriers?

More than 250,000 people have been killed; more than 11 million have been displaced, while 4.5 million have left their countries. More than 1 million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015. This compares with a figure of 280,000 in 2014. The scale of the crisis continues, with more than 135,000 having arrived in the first two months of 2016, many of them vulnerable women and children. Among the forces which are driving people to make the dangerous journey are the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The vast majority, more than 80%, of those who reached Europe by boat in 2015 had come from these three countries. Poverty, human rights abuses and deteriorating security conditions are also prompting people to set out from countries such as Eritrea, Pakistan, Morocco, Iran and Somalia in the hope of a new life in Europe. The routes they are taking are fraught with danger, but they have no other option. In 2015 more than 3,770 people drowned or went missing while crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Greece or Italy in flimsy dinghies or unsafe fishing boats. Most of those heading for Greece take the relatively short journey from Turkey to the islands of Kos, Chios, Lesbos and Samos. There is little infrastructure on these small Greek islands to cope with the thousands arriving, leaving overburdened authorities struggling to provide vital assistance. Survivors often report violence, rape and abuse by traffickers who charge thousands of dollars per person for their services. The chaos in Libya, in particular, has allowed traffickers the freedom to exploit migrants and refugees desperate to reach Europe.

For years the European Union has been struggling to harmonise asylum policy. It must be acknowledged that this is a difficult task for 28 member states, each with its own police force and judiciary. Championing the rights of poor migrants is difficult as the economic climate is still gloomy and many Europeans are unemployed and wary of foreign workers. EU countries are divided on how to share the refugee burden. More detailed joint rules have been introduced through the common European asylum system, but enforcing them EU-wide is a challenge. We must identify new measures that can be put in place at EU level to address the migration crisis. The Government has been too silent on this issue to date.

The unprecedented hardship and tragedy we are witnessing in countries in the Middle East and north Africa is the cause of the migrant crisis gripping Europe. The European Union must take a responsible and collective approach to this issue. Ireland is not doing enough. We are all very proud of the Naval Service, having rescued thousands from the Mediterranean Sea, but Ireland can and should do more. With all other countries, it has a moral duty to step up and do more. It is clear that the Dublin regulation which governs the asylum process is inadequate to deal with the scale of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Italy, Greece and Hungary. It is, therefore, timely to review this policy. Other member states are failing to meet their obligations as members of the European Union. The European Union was founded on the principles of community and solidarity, but it is clear that some member states are being overwhelmed by the crisis. It must be acknowledged that Europe is facing many challenges, but the crisis we face in Europe cannot be used as an excuse. We must work collectively and humanely to tackle this awful crisis, both the consequences and the causes.

Europe needs strong leadership on this issue. Ireland, more than most countries, knows the compassion other countries have shown to its citizens for many decades. Ireland is the ideal venue to host a European summit on the migration crisis and it has a proven record at EU level of delivering comprehensive agreements on major issues facing our community of nations. We must come up with concrete proposals for the successful integration of refugees and migrants. Deputy Niall Collins referred to the undocumented in Ireland. There are approximately 8,000 people living in direct provision centres. These people have no control over any aspect of their lives, including how they eat their food. They are merely existing without dignity in their lives.

The EU-Turkey deal agreed by the European Council on 17 and 18 March is unjust and unworkable. It does not address the refugee crisis. The policy agreed by the Council will have a huge impact on the lives of vulnerable people seeking safety in the European Union and, potentially, far-reaching consequences for our obligations under international law and risks breaching the fundamental right to seek asylum.

If the European Union does not want people to enter it by boat, we must with all urgency provide alternative safe pathways for those fleeing violence and persecution. If EU leaders think that by shutting Europe's door people's need to flee will end, they are demonstrating a profound and deliberate misunderstanding of the level of human suffering and terror felt by men, women and children fleeing war and conflict. We must do more.

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