Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Tá cúpla ceist agam. Does the Minister of State not think it a failure that Europe could not make a united stand calling for a cessation and condemning outright the genocide that is going on in the Middle East and the fears of the spread there?

Under what specific treaties are we duty-bound to take in so many refugees as a percentage, and IPAS applicants? The Taoiseach has welcomed the fact that Georgia has become a candidate to join the EU. Has he or the Minister of State expressed concerns about the number of Georgian nationals who have come into Dublin Airport with no documentation? I have figures that were not picked out of the sky but taken from parliamentary replies, as has Deputy Grealish. Is the Taoiseach or the Minister of State bringing those things up during discussions over accession when the opportunity is available to speak with Georgian officials or ministers?

A number of people who are coming into this country have applied for international protection in many other European countries and have been refused. They are coming here through the North and down here by car, bus and everything else. I think Deputy Crowe said earlier that they may have come through a plethora of countries from a war-torn area, which we sympathise with them on. They may have gone through nearly all EU countries, or maybe six or ten, to end up here. We just cannot cope here. The narrative put out is that anyone who says anything is racist. That is an awful situation and it is bubbling under the surface. It is annoying people and it is going to get worse. I understand that under Lisbon II we, like Denmark and others, have an opt-out clause. Why do we not do that? Has the Government signed up to an agreement that if we do not take certain numbers we will have to pay so much per person we do not take?

I ask the Minister of State to answer those questions, especially the ones about the treaties and whether he has spoken to Georgian ministers about what is happening here. I also asked about the fact that because the Border with Northern Ireland is not being policed, people are coming through wholesale. People who have been in England and elsewhere for a number of years are coming here.

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