Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is an important subject and I am glad we have the opportunity to discuss it here today. As the Minister of State will know, for the past five years and the past two in particular this matter has been the subject of constant debate by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. Representatives of all parties and none took a very active part in the debates and meeting witnesses from various representative organisations and advocacy groups. Members listened to the representatives' very positive proposals on what the Government needed to pursue. In many instances, the stories we heard from individuals from Syria and elsewhere in that general region were absolutely harrowing. It was harrowing to hear of the barbarity, horror and suffering inflicted on millions of people. It is in that context that Deputy Wallace outlined very clearly and with great passion his concerns in regard to so many people suffering.

The Fianna Fáil Party recognises that this is a great humanitarian and political challenge for Europe, and Ireland must play its part in assisting those in need of refuge at home and providing help at front-line camps. We must also ensure that those who come to live in this country integrate into Irish society. As we have outlined in debates in the Dáil and various meetings of foreign affairs and justice committees, we must work with our EU colleagues and the international community to help bring an end to the civil war that is destabilising Syria and that has generated the refugee crisis. For the past five years, the civil war has been destabilising the entire region and much further afield.

There is no doubt but that the Syrian conflict is central to the refugee crisis and that an end to the conflict will help to alleviate the crisis in a big way. Resolving the conflict is critical but a key priority must be to aid its victims. This is a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable proportions. In this regard, we need only think of the fact that 11 million people have been displaced during this civil war. Some 4.5 million people have left for other countries and, sadly, many of them are living in desperate and distressing circumstances.

Our party, including my party leader and I as party spokesperson, has pointed out continually over the past few years that all of us and all countries have a basic moral duty to step up and do more. The deal with Turkey that has been referred to is most unlikely to deliver significant benefits and runs the very real risk of causing grave damage to fundamental principles of the European Union. As party spokesperson over recent months, I have made it clear that we will oppose any measures that go against clear legal obligations. Fianna Fáil believes that the European Union cannot undermine core values that it demands of all members and all countries that have automatic rights to access the Union.

I was struck by some work that Trócaire did on the deal between the European Union and Turkey. Trócaire, along with Oxfam, GOAL and so many other organisations, is doing tremendous work in so many conflict zones throughout the world and it does us all proud. We have had great dialogue with them and their front-line staff on the issues that need to be pursued by the international community, particularly by ourselves at European Union level.

Let me outline some of the key issues highlighted by Trócaire in regard to the EU–Turkey plan. It states:

- The EU-Turkey plan is not designed in the best interests of refugees and asylum seekers, including Syrian civilians, but is instead focuses on containing the flow of displaced people trying to reach European countries.

- The plan has the potential to seriously erode the crucial protection for refugees afforded them under international law by designating Turkey a safe third country – leading to potential violation of the principle of non-refoulement.

- With its focus on Syria, the deal risks creating a hierarchy of refugees which violates the fundamental principle that all asylum applications should be considered on their own merit, regardless of where the applicant is from.

- The EU and Turkey’s assurance that asylum seekers will not have their rights violated, that they will have their asylum claims reviewed on an individual basis and that no one will be victims of collective expulsions, is not convincing given the scale of the numbers involved and the time line proposed – both of which raises serious concerns about the ability of the EU and Turkey to deliver on these commitments.

- The EU-Turkey plan damages the credibility of the EU, undermines the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid and sets a dangerous precedent of principled humanitarian donors motivated by political agendas.

Those are very strong arguments made by Trócaire and, since the organisation is an important national non-governmental organisation and a partner of other international, very credible and honourable non-governmental organisations, they have to be considered. Trócaire's views must be taken into account.

Let me refer to a few parliamentary questions that I tabled for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in recent times. In regard to the EU–Turkey deal, he stated:

It is unlikely that this agreement alone will resolve the migration crisis. It will not stop people leaving Syria, and it will not prevent people from wanting to come to Europe.

It is, therefore, apparent that this crisis is far from over and far from being resolved, unfortunately.

The Minister stated the following about the EU–Turkey deal in further information received in response to a parliamentary question:

The need to comply with international law was at the heart of the March European Council discussions. The legal advice of the EU institutions was that there is such compliance.

However, I believe we must continue to monitor the agreement and continually assess its impact and whether it is complying with international human rights laws and upholding the rights of refugees.

As we all know, Ireland has spent a considerable amount of money trying to address the Syrian crisis. We welcome the Government’s commitment over recent years in that respect. According to information supplied to me consequent to my tabling of another parliamentary question, the Minister stated: "At the London Pledging Conference on Syria in February 2016, Ireland pledged €20 million in support for the Syria crisis this year, on top of the €42 million in humanitarian assistance which we have already provided since 2012. Ireland’s humanitarian assistance is delivered through UN, Red Cross and NGO partners". We all want to be part of that response as individuals, public representatives and members of society, and we want to play an active financial role in trying to assist with the crisis. However, while this aid is much needed, it is essential that we not only uphold our financial commitments to help address this crisis but that we also uphold our moral and legal commitments. We cannot ignore the views of organisations that have expressed serious concerns over this deal. They are raising valid points and we must question the implications that this deal will have and the precedent it will set regarding the treatment of refugees in the future.

From more information provided in the response to a parliamentary question, I note that Ireland has deployed some experts on asylum to a Greek island. I welcome that. The experts were deployed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and some officials were deployed by the Department of Justice and Equality.

We had debates in this House following the horrors inflicted on the populations in Paris and in Belgium. I refer to the international crisis. We must not let the terrible terrorist attacks be used as an excuse to reject offering any refuge to those fleeing conflict, and we must oppose that. We believe the vast majority of those seeking refuge in European Union are trying to escape the horrors of conflicts and the ravages of war. While I believe Ireland must play a part in providing a safe haven for those escaping conflict, we must put in place robust safeguards to ensure those who seek refuge in Europe, including Ireland, are genuine migrants. What happened recently in Brussels and Paris must not prevent us from taking a responsible and collective approach to the migrant crisis. I reaffirm the support of our party for a fair, equitable and proportionate EU resettlement programme to address the migrant challenge. Unfortunately, that programme has not yet been put in place.

The attacks in Belgium and the previous attacks in Paris signify that there are organisations and groups that detest the European way of life and all we hold dear, namely, solidarity, freedom and democracy. Such hatred cannot be allowed to fester and grow, and it is clear that a co-ordinated European response is required to rid the world of this terrible evil. The terrible atrocities in Brussels should be used to unite Europe, and the events will not be used as a catalyst to undermine European cohesion and solidarity.

In a recent vote in the House of Commons, members voted by 278 to zero to declare that genocide is being perpetrated against Christians, Yazidis and others in Syria and Iraq.

As a sovereign State, we should impress on the United Nations Security Council the need to refer this matter to the International Criminal Court to have these horrors declared as genocide. There would be no point in having these atrocities declared as genocide 20 years from now. Such a declaration should be made now.

People who know my background will be aware that I am not fond of citing speakers in the House of Commons or the British Parliament in general. I was struck recently, however, by a report on a debate which had been initiated by a group of British parliamentarians to have what had happened in Syria and Iraq declared as genocide. I refer, in particular, to comments made by Ms Fiona Bruce, MP. As I indicated, we met organisations representing individuals who had endured the trauma of fleeing Syria where great suffering had been inflicted on many people. Ms Bruce spoke about the truly harrowing personal testimony of a 16 year old Yazidi girl who had been seized with others from her community by ISIS fighters and witnessed her father and brother being killed in front of her. The teenager spoke about how every girl in her community aged over eight years, including her, had been imprisoned and raped. Ms Bruce stated the girl "spoke of witnessing her friends being raped and hearing their screams, of seeing a girl aged nine being raped by so many men that she died." She also noted that MPs had heard from another woman who had come directly from Syria and spoke about Christians being killed and tortured, children being beheaded in front of their parents and mothers who had seen their children crucified. Yazidis and Christians had, Ms Bruce said, been targeted explicitly because of their religion and ethnicity. When we hear about these harrowing experiences - the word "harrowing" is not strong enough to describe them - can we not say the international community is failing to live up to its responsibilities to try to give some protection to innocent people?

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