Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this debate. Immigration is one of the most pressing issues facing the international community. We can see this across European member states, the UK and within our own country. Therefore, I welcome the Government's decision to opt into the EU migration and asylum pact. It is not only a necessary agreement, but one that will lead to a stronger, more robust and more responsive immigration system at home and abroad.

To that end, I pay tribute to the Department of Justice, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and her officials for their efforts to date. We are already seeing the fruits of the labour that has gone into addressing the large number of asylum seekers who have entered Ireland in recent years, with the number of international protection staff doubled and the number of decisions issued tripled. This is on top of the additional 100 gardaí being provided to support immigration services and the 3,000 "doorstop" operations carried out on flights. I also note that the fines on carriers have been increased by 66%, which will help to ensure that passengers have the correct documentation when beginning their journeys to Ireland.

While these are positive developments, we must also recognise that the International Protection Act 2015 is no longer fit for purpose. We must therefore ensure that we take the necessary steps, in tandem with our European partners, to improve our laws and operational systems, as we cannot go it alone. It is vital that we build a system that is sustainably resourced with funding and staff in order to ensure that we have a system that is flexible and adaptable to whatever circumstances arise. I ask Deputies to take themselves back just three years and compare the number of asylum applications then to the number this year and last year. To this end, I am pleased that the Department has plans to increase the requisite staffing and resources.

The world is changing around us. We are seeing an erosion of democracy around the globe, a rise in conflict and a rise in misinformation and disinformation, including in Europe and, sometimes, in this Chamber. We are faced with a weakened international order, with international institutions we have relied on for decades being undermined. We are also living through a period of climate crisis. All indicators suggest that the world is not yet taking the decisions needed to limit the worst effects of climate change. This will undoubtedly lead to greater pressure on immigration services, particularly in the European Union.

In our interconnected world, we cannot fool ourselves into thinking that events in one corner of the world will not have consequences for our own. We cannot go it alone. War and its impacts represent an enormous challenge to the international community, with the potential to see tens of millions of people on the move across multiple continents, including our own, in the decades to come. We must therefore ensure that our systems are not only able to adapt to the pressures of today, but are also future-proofed to deal with major international events that may lie ahead. The EU migration and asylum pact represents a positive shift towards this goal. By integrating information and processing systems, we can have a much more effective method of providing help to those who need it while processing those who do not have the right to stay within the State.

The reality is that, as an independent country, we cannot solve this challenge on our own. We must work with other EU member states. It is a facile, pointless and irrelevant argument to suggest that, with the common travel area and common movement across the EU, we could somehow decide that parts of this pact do not suit us and we should instead go it alone. By opting into the EU migration and asylum pact, we will be in a position to return individuals to other EU countries where appropriate. We simply cannot do that if we choose to opt out. We cannot deal with an increased level of migration that is nearly overwhelming our system if we go it alone or cherry-pick elements of the pact that suit our political narrative. We have spent years negotiating all elements of this pact, so why would we not opt into measures that we know will benefit us? Those opposite keep talking about a commonsensical approach, yet they have not made any suggestions as to what they would do. Nor have they said what they would do that they would otherwise be constrained from doing within the pact. Perhaps other Deputies opposite will set those details out later, or perhaps not.

If we do not opt in, we will not be able to participate in the Eurodac database, which will hold information such as fingerprints, allowing us to accurately identify individuals and where else they have been in Europe, again reinforcing our ability to determine whether they should be allowed to reside within the State. Information will also be collected on children older than six years. This will be a key step in preventing child trafficking and child exploitation, something to which we must redouble our efforts and something that a number of Members have raised over the years, particularly on the justice committee, which I have had the pleasure of being a member of. This aspect speaks to a wider need to ensure that human trafficking is routed out and those responsible for running criminal gangs dealing in the trade of other human beings are crushed, their profits seized and the full force of the law brought to bear upon them. An Garda Síochána has a strong track record of working with international partners to tackle criminal gangs operating across international borders. We must engage with partners on the goal of preventing human trafficking in Europe.

I am appreciative of the efforts under way and the continued progress that Irish immigration services are making as regards faster processing times for international protection applications. I note that the rapid processing system for those without documents is being developed apace. The EU migration and asylum pact will see the harmonisation of these processing times across the EU bloc. Given our current progress in processing times, this will facilitate a seamless integration into the wider European framework. Ultimately, this will lead to stronger borders, supported by a system that is responsive and efficient and has the tools to identify where an individual should be accommodated.

Regarding accommodation, the large-scale facilities set out by the Department of integration are needed now more than ever. While some locations have been identified across the State, it is essential that both sides of the House continue our efforts to engage with communities in a meaningful, truthful and fair way to inform them as to what has to occur in any given community. Where mistakes have been made in the provision of, for example, hotel accommodation in certain areas in the country, we must do our best to ensure that communities are not overburdened.

I know every single county has an asylum facility of some kind where we are accommodating those in international protection, not just our friends from Ukraine but also individuals from all over the globe. It is a reflection of the global trends that those numbers will not decrease but increase. Therefore, we must be able to facilitate in the most humane and appropriate environment the individuals who seek protection.

The inclusion of the solidarity mechanism in the pact will represent a pathway for countries to co-operate without mandatory measures being imposed. This is a welcome inclusion that will allow the Government to determine the best course of action for our people. I also recognise that a great deal of misinformation is being disseminated about what the pact will mean for member states, including Ireland. An extraordinary level of misinformation and disinformation is present, as I have referenced. I ask anybody watching this session of the Dáil to familiarise themselves with a recent Sky News survey of the source of much online discussion on this matter. It showed that with regard to the riots, 80% of the information being disseminated was emanating from the UK and with regard to migration and those other incidents that have occurred in recent times, something like 90% of the information was being spread from outside the State. I find this extraordinary but those apparently are the facts that were available on the X platform. It is imperative that the facts are heard and people are not gaslit into believing that we are some sort of lawless society where anybody can enter unchecked. The reality is that we have a robust system based on rules of law. The nature of the EU migration and asylum pact will enhance our system, make it stronger and allow us more flexibility to address the challenges, whatever that may be.

To opt out of this pact would make us weaker. It would limit the scope of our options when processing individuals and despite what is being claimed in some corners of the Internet, opting out of this pact would mean we would become a more popular destination for those with invalid circumstances because of the lack of options. We would be unable to cope and, dare I say it, the 100 or so tents on the canal could potentially become thousands.

I also highlight some of the facts about our immigration system. Compared with this time last year, undocumented arrivals in Ireland are down by 14% and this figure is down by 42% when compared with 2022. This is all the more noteworthy during a time when we have seen an increase of 44% in all types of passengers. It shows that the operations carried out by the Garda, border security and immigration services are working. Furthermore, we have seen an increase this year of 83% in deportation orders compared with this time last year. Enforced deportations are up by 126% while voluntary deportations are up by 129% when compared with this time last year, both having more than doubled.

I again thank the Minister for her work on this matter. As a member of the justice committee, I know we have had the opportunity to discuss this with the Minister and her officials and I am pleased it has been of significant import in the general debate in recent months. I look forward to working with colleagues on this issue and delivering results that reflect our moral responsibilities in the interests of the Irish people.

See this speech in context