Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is clearly not in our interests to opt into all of the parts of the migrant pact that will unfortunately tie future Governments into this pact. Ireland can create a fair, efficient and enforced immigration system. I note that Ministers and Government Deputies all day said those same words. Fine Gael has been in power for 13 years and Fianna Fáil for the past five years. They have had the time to do it and they have failed miserably. They are now trying to play catch-up using these words and it is many years too late. Decisions should be made closer to home and future Irish Governments must be able to decide on key aspects of our immigration system.

I live in one of the most diverse communities in the State. There are some natives in Dublin 15 but the vast majority of us are blow-ins, many from other parts of Dublin and the surrounding counties but many others from outside the country. These are immigrants who came here to work in our hospitals, care homes and social care providers. Others work in construction, IT, pharmaceuticals, hospitality services and many other types of jobs.

Migrants, with those who were born and bred in Ireland, have played a massive part in building Dublin 15. We are a much better place with them coming here to make a better life and contribute to our economic life, music, sports, education and health systems and the many other areas to which they positively contribute.

In recent months, I canvassed thousands of doors in my constituency of Dublin West. I thank everyone who engaged respectfully on the issue of migration, even those who disagreed with me. However, there are a very small but growing number who were emboldened to spew hateful, racist and homophobic abuse. These racist and hateful people should be faced down and their abuse should never be tolerated. I note that social media companies, particularly TikTok, are absolutely toxic. TikTok is a wild west that allows racist and violent content on its platform. It allows the most horrendous abuse without removing it. Today, I watched a video of a foreign man brutally beaten by these so-called patriots who made unsubstantiated claims about this person. He was punched and kicked in the head while on the ground and one thug had a so-called knuckle-duster with which he rained down punches. This video is freely available to be viewed by millions on TikTok today. The days of hands-off self-regulation must come to an end. They have shown that the negative content, lies, misinformation, hate and racism this platform spews out every day are about making money. That is all it is about. TikTok does not care about people and the effects of its content on society.

The majority of the people I spoke to are decent, hard-working and kind. They want to see a system that makes sense and is rules-based and they want those rules enforced. They understand that Irish people have travelled the world and laid down roots in many countries across the globe. This is seen in the hundreds of St. Patrick's Day parades held in March every year. They want to see a Government that is listening to them and that takes their hopes and concerns into account. What we have seen is a completely disjointed and badly communicated process when it comes to accommodation for asylum seekers.

We have made it clear that this migrant pact is not in Ireland's interests. It hands over our sovereignty to the EU and will make it impossible for Ireland to determine its own immigration system in the future. I will be voting "No" because it makes no sense to give up the flexibility we have within the EU on decision-making regarding migration.

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