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

On migration, the discussion we had at the June European Council was a follow-on from the detailed conclusions agreed by the Council in February, and much progress has been made since then. We could not agree on conclusions at the most recent meeting in Brussels because of the objections of Poland and Hungary. Sometimes it is better to have no conclusions than a formula of wording to which everybody can agree but does not mean very much. Nonetheless, President Michel felt it was important for us to discuss the issue again.

Tragic events, including the recent shipwreck off the coast of Greece that resulted in the loss of many lives, continue to highlight the urgent need to deal with migration in a comprehensive and holistic manner. Ireland will continue to work with its EU partners to ensure humanitarian and international legal obligations are upheld. The protection of life and safety at sea remains paramount, irrespective of the circumstances that lead to people being in a situation of distress.

In the round, migration is a good thing for our country, but it does need to be properly managed. On 8 June and 9 June, justice and home affairs ministers reached a political agreement on the asylum procedure regulation and the asylum and migration management regulation, two important elements of the proposed pact on asylum and migration. Once adopted by the EU co-legislators, this will establish a common procedure for processing international protection requests, mandatory border procedures and a new flexible solidarity mechanism. In answer to Deputy Haughey's question, I do not believe it will work on its own but it can help.

It is clear we need a comprehensive approach that deals with all aspects of the challenge. That includes strengthening the EU's external borders, solidarity within the EU and working closely with countries of origin and transit. I certainly agree with Deputy Haughey that we need a zero-tolerance approach to those who engage in people smuggling and human trafficking. They put people in vessels that are often not seaworthy and do not care whether they reach the other side alive; they just want their money. We need to break up those rackets in any way we can. I will leave it at that.

I agree we need legal pathways to migration but I point out we have many legal pathways to migration in Ireland. Any citizen of the UK, EU or European Economic Area can come to Ireland to work, study and live. That amounts to nearly 500 million people. We have an effective work permit system and issue about 40,000 work permits every year to people with skills we need who want to come here. In addition, there are student visas, family visas and so on. Ireland is actually a very good example of a country that has many legal pathways to migration. I do not believe the asylum process or international protection system should be used by anyone other than people who need international protection because they are fleeing war or persecution. It should not be used as a means of economic migration.

With regard to Deputy Ó Murchú's question on Cyprus, there was a mention of the matter in the EU conclusions. The new President of Cyprus gave us an update on the situation. I had a chance to meet the Speaker of the Cypriot Assembly, who is effectively the Vice President. She visited Ireland recently and I met her in Brussels also. There is hope on the Greek Cypriot side that talks can resume again, but it is unfortunate that previous attempts to agree on unification have not been possible.

I understand cluster munitions are being used by both Ukraine and Russia in the war. That is absolutely wrong. Ireland as a country has been a leader on this issue. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, took a particular interest in the matter during his time as Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Ireland is one of the countries that has signed up to the convention banning cluster munitions. They are terrible weapons and they inflict an inordinate amount of harm on civilians. They can be left around for years and cause injuries similar to those caused by landmines. They are really awful weapons. We totally disagree with the United States decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine. I have said that publicly already and want to put it on the record of the House. We will say this directly to the US authorities when the opportunity arises. Our colleagues in the UK and the European Union take the same view. I hope the war ends soon but what is certain is that there will be people injured by the weapons long after the war has ended, as we saw in Vietnam, Bosnia and other places. I have seen demining operations in Colombia. It is a profoundly wrong decision to provide those weapons.

International parental abduction has not been discussed at the European Council, at least not to my recollection and not recently, but I am aware of individual cases involving people who live in my constituency and others who have raised the issue with me. We all encounter such cases as politicians. I remember the stellar work of former MEP Mary Banotti, who took a particular interest in the issue. The Department of Foreign Affairs helps wherever it can. Sometimes it can be hard to help in a meaningful or practical way because laws can be very different in other countries, but the Department is available to help people in any way it can.

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