Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are witnessing very distressing scenes from the refugee camp in Calais, sometimes referred to as the jungle. It has been home to 6,000 souls, 800 of whom are unaccompanied minors, in other words, children. There is very deep concern for everybody in that refugee camp, but particularly for children, as they are moved from Calais and dispersed to other parts of France. To our very great credit, many Irish people have visited the area and worked directly with the refugees in Calais. To our eternal shame, the State and the Taoiseach's Government have not honoured the spirit or requirements of what we need to do for these refugees. I put it to the Taoiseach that we must act collectively, immediately and in a unified fashion to do what we can to secure the safety of these child refugees especially. I ask the Taoiseach if we can have a debate on the matter in the Dáil. Can he, as Head of Government, commit to acting quickly on this matter? Can he commit that the State can relocate-----

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