Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of the EU migration pact. It is a highly controversial and complex issue. It took eight years for the EU to agree these proposals and yet only half a day has been set aside at the Joint Committee on Justice to hear them. If we compare that with the amount of time given to the controversy in RTÉ in two different committees, we can see the disparity. These proposals will have far-ranging impacts. We are talking about potentially thousands of people being held in detention centres on our borders simply for seeking refuge in Ireland. It is really important that the Oireachtas has the ability to robustly interrogate and discuss these issues, rather than having the migration pact simply nodded through in a committee and a subsequent vote. Does the Tánaiste believe a half day at a committee is sufficient? Does the Tánaiste know whether there will be one vote or multiple votes on the migration pact because this is not clear either?

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