Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise. Syria was not discussed at the most recent European Council but was discussed at the February Council. Ireland is extremely concerned by what is happening and has continued to provide aid to support those affected in Syria. We have provided €110 million since the conflict started albeit we would like to do more. We are working with our European counterparts. We regret that the UN Security Council has been unable to take meaningful action to maintain international peace and security. It is disappointing that there are those who have vetoed effective UN action. Those parties bear a heavy responsibility. The Russian veto risks offering a licence to attack civilians with impunity. Different states have formed different conclusions as to how best to act in these different circumstances. Our position has been always to move away from military action and to encourage the government at hand to deal with this situation itself. I might come back to the Deputy with greater detail from the Council meeting in February and let him know when Syria will be on the agenda again. Deputy Daly raised a question about someone coming to Ireland, which I will bring back to the Tánaiste also.

A number of issues were raised about Brexit and the migration crisis, respectively. There has been a great deal of talk in the context of Brexit of the backstop ceasing to exist or being no longer on the agenda and of the strategy put in place by Ireland or the EU having failed. I remind Deputies that Brexit has not yet happened, that negotiations are still ongoing, that the deadline for Brexit is March 2019 and that the deadline for the withdrawal agreement is October 2018. We were extremely disappointed that sufficient progress was not made in the June European Council. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have been very clear in stating that without progress the likelihood of having no deal or agreement grows. Obviously, we need to ensure in the next weeks and months that this does not happen. Every focus is on ensuring we have an outcome in October. As to the suggestion of a September summit, many Deputies have already pointed out that preparations for the Council itself take a number of weeks. Rather than prepare for a summit at which there will be no actual conclusions, our focus must be on the discussions, engagements and negotiations between the EU task force and the UK.

There was also a suggestion that it is a waste of time for the Taoiseach or another Minister or Member of the House to travel to other member states. I acknowledge that when one travels to Poland, Austria or Italy, for example, Brexit is not at the top of their agendas. While it is not a priority for other member states in that regard, Ireland is top of their agenda when it comes to the overall withdrawal agreement and the outcome of Brexit. That is because of our continuous engagement and travel to other member states while welcoming their representatives to Ireland. We have ensured the Irish backstop is on their agenda. On foot of that engagement, we have been able to come to the point we are at. I stress that while the conclusions may seem short and while they outline that sufficient progress has not been made, they also outline that without the Irish protocol, there will be no withdrawal agreement. Without a withdrawal agreement, there will be no transition period. That is something the UK Government must take very seriously at this point.

It has also been suggested that we are not preparing for a hard Brexit and that it was not until Guy Verhofstadt visited Ireland that we started to prepare. I assure Deputy Chambers and others that following the vote, immediate action was taken to engage with our Departments and industry to ensure they identified the possible challenges and threats in all eventualities from a hard Brexit to the best possible outcome. They have since been engaged in identifying what procedures, measures and changes to legislation and so on are necessary. Obviously, we are not going to start explaining to people in the middle of negotiations what those possible measures are when the outcome is not yet known.

A number of issues were raised having regard to migration. I point out that while there was a significant difficulty in reaching a conclusion at the discussions last week, a framework for moving forward was agreed. The challenge now is to implement that framework. Ireland has been consistent in offering solidarity and support to those member states most impacted and we have agreed to increase our contribution to the Africa Trust fund, first from €3 million to €6 million and, now, to €15 million. Many Deputies have referred to the need to address root causes and this is one of the ways to do it. We will continue to work with organisations in Africa to ensure we identify and address the root causes which are leading people to travel.

Strengthening our borders and, in particular, Frontex is about stemming illegal migration. Last year, illegal migration decreased by 80% and the overall figure has decreased by 95% since 2015. However, we are absolutely dedicated to helping those migrants who are in sincere need of our support and to working with member states and hosts. We have demonstrated that by our involvement in Operation Sophia to tackle illegal smuggling. Our sailors have rescued more than 17,000 people at sea who might otherwise have drowned. We also accepted migrants from the Lifeline ship last week and while it may seem like a small number, we were one of the first member states to offer our support and solidarity in that regard. We are working to ensure that all of these measures are put in place and that we accept our fair share of the burden. I do not mean that people are burdens, but refer to the process. We are also providing financial and other support wherever we can. The question of militarisation was also raised.

The budget has only been discussed and a proposal has been made of €896 million for the proposed MFF. The very first discussion of the overall individual issues took place only last week in a meeting with Commissioner Oettinger and as such discussions are at a very early stage. The Government has stated consistently that while we support the need for newer funding avenues, the older, traditional measures must remain. CAP, research and innovation funding and cohesion funding must be also supported. While an initial figure has been put out there, we are at only the very early stages of negotiations.

See this speech in context