Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I appreciate the unaccompanied minors are being taken from the camp in Calais today and that their first preference would seem to be the United Kingdom, I cannot accept the Government's passive attitude towards this appalling situation. We are good at finding words that lessen the emotional impact a situation can have on us, so can we start using language that actually reflects the truth? Unaccompanied minors are children and teenagers. It is as simple as that. Ireland has a proud record in humanitarian assistance, and I give credit to successive Governments and Department officials who have worked to reflect our values as people.

While everyone hopes that the UK will be generous in its response, it is unlikely at this stage that all of these children will be taken into Britain. The diplomatic stand-off between the UK and French Governments over these refugees is shameful and does a disservice to the better values of these people. The camp in Calais stands out as a monument to the disgrace and shame that should be felt by all of us. Irish officials should be in France tonight to offer immediate accommodation to children who will not be taken in by Britain.

The camp in Calais is the size of a small town in Wicklow such as Blessington and if there were 1,500 children sleeping in containers in Blessington tonight, there would be action taken. These children have suffered a lot in their journey to reach shelter. Our values, as Europeans, as Irish citizens and as human beings, must be reflected in concrete actions. Even the Government Chief Whip said today that we need to put our money where our mouths are, and I agree with her. We await the detail from the Government to support that stance.

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