Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A unilateral withdrawal from the EU-Turkey deal would not be in migrants' best interests. The deal is far from perfect, but since it was agreed to, there has been an alleviation of the plight of the many hundreds of thousands of migrants in the region.

I assure the Deputy that Ireland will continue to play an important role in the debate on Turkey, its relationship with the European Union and its possible status as an accession state. It is important that we send a clear and united signal to it on our concerns which I had the opportunity to make on behalf of the Government and the people and those of the European Union. However, I invite the Deputy to agree with me on the importance of keeping open channels of communication with Turkey in order to establish a framework so as to ensure the best interests of the and those of the European Union and migrants are kept to the fore.

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