Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is very hard to believe the French authorities could dismantle the "Jungle" camp in Calais, move people on and yet leave 1,000 to 1,500 young people there, many of whom are unaccompanied minors. Some of them may have set out with their parents but became separated when their parents died en route, and some may have come because their families took the opportunity to get their children out of a war zone. We also know figures from February indicate either 129 or 200 young people have gone missing. We were talking about sexual offences earlier and we know that group of unaccompanied young minors are at most risk of exploitation and not being safe.

We know we have been less than generous in the past, particularly at the time of the Holocaust, in welcoming Jewish and other families fleeing Hitler's Germany. Nevertheless, Irish people are generous and we know the numbers of Irish families have offered homes for these children through the Red Cross. Clearly, vetting and child safety laws must be followed, and that will take time, but Irish workers and social workers in Calais would be very good sources of information in this regard.

We are a migrant nation and our children and teenagers have gone to Australia, the United States and the European Union. We know what the difficulties have been like for them but we also know the contribution they made to those societies. We could give these refugees the chance to make that contribution here. There is a bigger picture. Nobody should have to leave a home or country of origin because of war, lack of food or human rights abuses. Nevertheless, our so-called developed world allows, contributes to and creates war. This developed world includes Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran, Russia, the United States, the EU and NATO countries. It is our policies on tax, economics and the environment that are creating food insecurity that can cause migration. It is our world that trades in arms that keeps the conflicts going. It is our world that is responsible for the continuing destruction and chaos in Syria, not to mention Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Sudan and Eritrea. It is bodies like the EU and the United Nations that talk the talk about human rights. We can see the far right in certain countries that is using the chaos of the refugee issue as a means of progressing anti-migrant and anti-migration agendas.

What could have been a safe and orderly evacuation of civilians from Syria has descended into the chaos that we are seeing, with people putting their lives at risk. I know the effect of our overseas development aid as I have seen it. I know the work of our non-governmental organisations, our missionaries and embassies on the ground. That is why it is all the more disappointing that we are not doing more with refugees. The Tánaiste gave some figures but progress is very slow. The Nasc organisation is advocating a Safe Passage campaign and we should look at it as a humanitarian assistance programme.

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