Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At this point, it would be unwise to speculate on the outcome of the referendum in the UK. Polls appear to show that it will be a close finish. The Government's position is very clear on our preferred outcome. I agree with the Deputy that the debate in the UK has thrown into very sharp relief the citizens' views on the EU, both for and against. It will impact the debate in this country and elsewhere in future in terms of the type of debate we will have and the many issues it has thrown up.

The Deputy mentioned the refugee crisis and the response of Europe to it. It has been a very complex situation. Ireland will have the full resettlement programme in place by the end of September. The relocation programme is now starting to be much more active than it was before. We will have increased numbers of Syrian refugees arriving here and we will be in a position to take up the many offers of help from the public which have been made to the Red Cross. Hopefully we will be able to take up the offers in the coming months as more refugees arrive in Ireland but there was a very slow start right across Europe.

Regarding the point Deputy Catherine Murphy made, that, of course, will have to be approved by the Oireachtas and there will be a full opportunity for debate in the Oireachtas. It is being negotiated in an transparent way. We certainly want to have as full a debate as possible on it. There is no agreement. There is a long way to go. There are certainly benefits that would, I believe, far outweigh the negatives but certainly there will have to be much further engagement. No doubt the points Deputy Catherine Murphy raised will form part of the debate here in the Oireachtas at the appropriate time.

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