Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----that is what I am calling for.

To go back to the initial question by Deputy Alan Farrell, it is correct to say that there is an improved atmosphere between the European Commission and the UK Government. It is a much better atmosphere, a much better backdrop and a much better mood music than I have seen or heard at any period since Brexit was passed. There is increased trust. I think there is increased flexibility on both sides and there is also increased confidentiality, which is also very important. We have all agreed to make sure that these talks and negotiations can happen in a confidential setting. That is not to say that there are not big differences and gaps; there are. Those gaps will be hard to close and those differences will be hard to resolve.

When I spoke with President von der Leyen on the phone, we did not have a chance to discuss REPowerEU but that may well be a topic of discussion on 9 and 10 February. In my conversation with the Prime Minister, Mr. Sunak, we discussed the protocol and I restated our objection to the UK’s legacy legislation, as well as our concerns around the proposed electronic travel authorisation which could adversely affect EU citizens and non-EU citizens trying to go from North to South.

In terms of a timeline for an agreement, there is no definite timeline and there is no deadline. We would all love to see a resolution before the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement or if not, before St. Patrick’s Day. However, I cannot say that this will be possible at this stage. There is no particular deadline in that regard.

On the death penalty, I wish to make clear that Ireland is opposed to the death penalty in any country. However, as a general principle we do not support boycotts and disinvestment because we believe that more can be achieved by engagement. I am not aware of any Irish universities that plan to set up a campus in Saudi Arabia. Obviously, they would have to think for themselves about what might be involved in that. There are Saudi students who come here to study in Ireland. I have met some of them. They are great ambassadors for their country and they are very much welcome here.

Finally, on the refugee crisis, as I said earlier we should not forget the context. We are facing an unprecedented situation with a refugee crisis in Europe the likes of which we have not seen since the Second World War and the likes of which we have never seen in Ireland. Let us not forget that last year, we welcomed almost 100,000 people to Ireland from Ukraine and from other parts of the world. We provided them with shelter, food, heat, light, education for their children, healthcare and, in many cases, employment. We can be proud as a society of what we have done in the past year. There is no lack of compassion from the Government or from the Irish people but there is a lack of capacity. We are doing all we can at the moment to source more accommodation. In the meantime, we have to prioritise and we will be prioritising people coming from Ukraine, as well as people who are not coming here from Ukraine such as children, families, vulnerable adults and, of course, programme refugees. Yet, we cannot guarantee accommodation for everyone who comes to the country unannounced. We will certainly not turn anyone away but we will say to people that if they are thinking of coming to Ireland and if they are in a safe country, if they are in a safe place and if they have accommodation, they need to be aware of the fact that accommodation is not necessarily available in Ireland. People coming here are of all sorts of different status. Citizens from the EU and the UK are free to come here at will, provided they can support themselves. We issue 40,000 work permits every year to people of every colour, race and religion who come here legally. They are allowed to do that and they are extremely welcome. We need them to power our economy and run our public services. It does not matter what their race, religion or colour is. People who come here from Ukraine are beneficiaries of temporary protection under EU law, which is above national law, and have a particular status. Programme refugees, including those coming from Syria, for example, have a particular status. Those who are seeking international protection also have a particular status but it is a different status from the ones that I mentioned.

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