Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I, like many in the Chamber today, want to speak on the continued situation in Gaza and the horrendous war we are seeing unfold. Many Members have spoken about this since the October attacks by Hamas, which were atrocious and have rightly been condemned. Yet, the response from the Israel Defense Forces has been disproportionate. It has been an attack on civilians, including the vulnerable and the young. Most sick of all were the attacks on hospitals. They can talk about terror structures existing or co-locating in hospitals, but we as a country have no evidence of that and we need the experts to determine that. To see people walking through the corridors of hospitals in full military fatigue and carrying weapons is terrifying. It is hard to believe that all this war-zone activity and the targeting of innocent civilians, vulnerable people, children, babies and old people is happening just a few kilometres away from one of the more affluent states in the world: the Israeli state. It is diabolical. That country is very quickly heading, as others have said, for a full-on famine situation.

The time has come for Ireland to join its forces with South Africa so that it is not a lone voice in the world of international relations at this time, and to carry the flag at the International Courts of Justice. I noted comments that were made by the Taoiseach yesterday in this Chamber. He stated that when South Africa files its main case, or in legal terms, its "memorial" case, Ireland will then declare a position and the Office of the Attorney General will state a position. It will be important for that to move fairly quickly so that we are not left dragging our heels when the South African case is lodged. It has already been progressing for the last two weeks. Although we have not gotten into the meat of the issue, such is the world of legality that things can often progress at a slower pace than humanity needs it to progress. I think Ireland needs to come off the fence pretty soon and say that it stands in full solidarity with the people of Palestine and say that it supports the very brave action that has been taken by the South African state.

I pride this country and this Government on being among the more outspoken ones. There are so many Governments in Europe that from the get-go gave the green card to the Israel Defense Forces to do whatever they needed to do. President Joe Biden is someone who I think most Members here would admire. He was here only a few months ago. I was utterly disappointed and dismayed when he condemned Israel but at the same time backed off and said they have to do what they have to do. That hands-off approach has just emboldened the attitude of Netanyahu and his military forces. I will again repeat myself with this point: it is the most vulnerable people who are suffering. We now see that the city of Khan Younis is now surrounded. Anyone who has watched the news over recent weeks will know that it is no longer a functioning city; it is the largest refugee camp in the world. To see it being surrounded by military infrastructure and heavy military equipment is devastating.

I want to speak about the ongoing situation with Ireland receiving international protection applicants and Ukrainian war refugees. We can be very proud of the role we have played. I am from Meelick in County Clare, where we have Ireland's longest full-time international protection centre: the Knockalisheen Accommodation Centre, which has been in existence all the way back to the Hungarian revolution of 1956. We have proudly and warmly received refugees for many decades. There are still people living in the Knockalisheen centre and they bemoan the fact. Many of them tell me they have spent ten or 12 years trying to apply for asylum and trying to have it approved in Ireland. They just feel that the system needs to be more agile. It has to be more agile because we heard the Taoiseach say just last year that this system is being used by many through the right means but that others are abusing it. If someone does not have the right to seek asylum in this country, they need to leave this country. If someone has the right to be in this country, the process needs to be sped up. They should not be living in a state of limbo like many of our locals at the Knockalisheen centre have been for ten or 12 years. It has to be a far more agile system. If they have a right to be here and that is fully proven, they need to stay here. Their status needs to be legitimised so they can fully assimilate, work in society and educate their children. If they do not, sorry but they need to go back to a country that can safely meet their needs.

It is also important that we look at Article 3 of the IPA, which deals with the "first country" in which an applicant was granted refugee status as being valid and current. It also states that the definition of “first country” for IPA can be the country in which the applicant enjoys sufficient protection and avoids refoulement, which means the forceful return of the refugee to another country. Ireland is not that. We have never forced anyone back. I am glad to say we have played a major role. However, in referring to the whole concept of "first country", it is inconceivable that people who are leaving war and persecution situations thousands of miles from here have traversed an entire continent and the whole European Union bloc of nations, and have arrived in Ireland without any country meeting their needs. If they are in Ireland and we have a role to play in supporting them, let us double down on that role. If someone has traversed 15 EU member states to get to Ireland, I think the rule laid out in Article 63 of the IPA can conceivably have been breached. There were a number of High Court cases in 2019 and 2020 around this very article. I think Ireland needs to have scrutiny here. We are absolutely pressured as a country, but I want to speak up for those people in Knockalisheen and the many people who have been backlogged in the system for many years. The system needs to be far more agile for them.

Some people coming into this country most likely need to come through the work permit system. Many people last year were applying for international protection in Ireland from South Africa. There are certainly disparities in the South African economy and there are social issues in that country, but these people should have come through the work visa system. Again, this is backlogging and clogging up a system that needs to be far more agile for the people who are most in need.

We received many people from the Syrian war three years ago and they have assimilated well in County Clare. There are people in the Knockalisheen centre from Congo and Senegal. Some of them have fled awful situations, but they have been languishing for ten or 12 years while waiting for someone to decide their situation. They just feel that if we are looking at the whole area of international protection, as well as Ukrainian war refugees, their voices cannot be lost in that mix as well. We need the system to be more agile and for Article 63 of the IPA to be scrutinised more closely from an Irish point of view, as well as from the point of view of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Taoiseach.

See this speech in context