Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad we have had the opportunity to come back to this. It was quite rushed the last night. We were somewhat under pressure. The events that were happening the very night we were here debating the Bill brought into very sharp focus what all of this is about and the issues involved. All of us are of common mind in our determination to find a way to ensure that the people who engage in this kind of people smuggling are held to account and punished for the heinous crime they set out to commit.

We are also aware that the situation in the English Channel has been ongoing for many years. We have seen the camp at Calais, the so-called "Jungle", and all of that. I have spoken to people who acted in a humanitarian way there and who spoke to the people living in this camp. They put the question to them very firmly, why was there such a rush to get across the English Channel now that they were in Europe and why were they putting themselves in such danger? For most of them, it was because of family reasons. They had family members already living in Britain and they wanted to go across to them. Language was also a big issue. Many of them were from North Africa and perhaps had some difficulty with France and the French language because of old colonial history. As we know, English is the international language of businesses and is learned by people all over the world. Many people have English when they come to Europe and Britain is the place they want to go. These are all reasons for trying to cross. With regard to the risks they take, obviously they are given absolute assurances by the people who set them up to cross. They are told there is no risk involved, that the vast majority get through and that there will be no problem. Unfortunately, there are problems and there are people who lose their lives. Even if lives were not being lost, the fact that these criminal enterprises are under way in Europe and in the seas around Europe, whether the Mediterranean or the English Channel, presents a challenge to all of us.

One of the points I was going to make the last night, when we had to close down the debate, was that there is a certain suspicion or worry among all of us that this is coming from a European Union that has, over many years, set itself up as a fortress Europe which wants to protect its borders and keep people out. A bit like the principles many other establishments in the world set up, the principle of guarding the borders at all costs has not worked out very well. It has not been a success. It has been a failure from a humanitarian perspective and in many other ways. All governments and the European Union need to reflect on that and on what other options are available to assist people who want to come to Europe, who want a better life and who want to contribute to society in whatever country they wish to come to. We have to reflect on how that can be done in a way that works for them and for everyone else involved. We are aware that there are labour shortages in many countries in Europe and our country is no different in that respect. There are ways around this and there needs to be a greater focus on finding solutions rather than on setting up this fortress Europe.

I will come to the amendment itself. I support Deputy Connolly in what she is attempting to do. We are talking about people who, for humanitarian reasons and as part of humanitarian organisations, wish to assist people in reaching safety and to ensure they have safe passage to where they need to go. There needs to be a means of doing that. The proposal from the Minister of State is that acting for these reasons shall be a defence while Deputy Connolly is proposing that it should not be an offence. There is a stark defence in law as to how those two sets of principles work out.

I appeal to the Minister of State to come back to this matter, to look favourably upon the amendment and to find a way to incorporate it into the legislation because it would be grossly unfair for people who are involved in saving the lives and liberty of others for very worthy humanitarian reasons to be prosecuted. We are also aware that many people are smuggled into the country. It is not just that they are smuggled into the country but, after being brought in, they are then enslaved in various ways. They are used as labour slaves or are enslaved in the so-called sex industry. There are enormous problems there that are also part of all of this. There are humanitarian organisations attempting to ensure that does not happen and to take people out of all of that. There is a very worthy reason for the Minister of State to look at this amendment again and to support it.

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