Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is no logical basis for a wholesale opt in to the EU asylum and migration pact. Ireland has opt-outs for a reason. We are an island nation divided into two political jurisdictions, one of which has been forced out of the EU; our nearest neighbour has left the EU; and we are a part of a common travel area. Future Governments will need flexibility to deal with future challenges. What the Government is proposing to this House is that it will tie the hands of this State to meet those challenges.

How many times in this Chamber does a Minister respond to a sensible and practical proposal with the assertion that it cannot be implemented because of EU constraints? Today the Minister wants to add to those constraints. We can opt into some parts of this pact and opt out of others and that is what we should do. We should opt into those parts that are necessary to have a fair, efficient and enforced asylum system, namely, those parts that provide for the return to international protection applicants and those that allow for the sharing of information, and opt out of those that are not necessary, namely, measures that could as easily be enacted domestically or that could prevent governments taking emergency or speedy decisions. That the Minister has confirmed that she has not even given any consideration to opting out of most or even some of this pact is not only a failure on her part, it verges on maladministration. If the Government moves full throttle to sign up to every part of the migration and asylum pact, the only meaningful outcome will be the undermining of sovereignty and our ability to make decisions at home. It will not change the fundamental failures of this Government. It will not address the accommodation shortage that has disgracefully resulted in vulnerable people being forced to sleep on the streets or in tents. It will not address the concerns of communities that have been ignored and dismissed by Government, which has allowed private operators to make millions of euro while ignoring the capacity of those local communities and the public services on which they rely. It will not deliver a fair, efficient and enforced system. To be clear about what that means, a fair system is one that treats those seeking asylum with dignity and respect and ensures adequate engagement with communities before, not after, decisions that affect them are made. An efficient system is one that processes applications quickly and ensures that those who are eligible to remain are welcomed into society and supported in entering into their communities to make a positive contributions to them. An enforced system is one that quickly returns those who are not eligible to remain to their state of origin. None of that is beyond our ability, although it does appear it is beyond the competence of the Government. Things can be done better by a better government but this Government is trying to make things more difficult for its successors by signing us up to a pact from which we will not be able to withdraw. It is not acceptable and this House must make a stand by rejecting the Government motion before us.

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