Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are many people who see the adoption of this pact as the grave into which we are going to place our national sovereignty on the issue of asylum and migration. I agree with that view. In the fullness of time, we will be worse off socially, financially and politically because of it. Many also share the view, articulated some months ago by Senator McDowell, that what we are dealing with here, while it may not rise to the level of constitutional change in the strict sense, seeks to bring about constitutional-level changes and, as such, requires far greater levels of public consultation and consent.

Have we seen much consultation taking place? Have we seen many discussions taking place with the Irish people who will be directly affected by this opt-in to the pact? No, we have not. Why is that? In a series of parliamentary questions that I submitted to all Departments, I have established that Government spent almost €14 million on digital advertising and €23 million on Irish print media advertising in the last number of years. The issues ranged from the banal to the serious. Has there been a widespread campaign alerting people of what we are dealing with here today? Has the Government encouraged the voices of ordinary people to be heard on these issues? We all know the answer to that. We all know how debate was stifled in this very House when I brought it up 22 months ago. I certainly was not given a fair platform, and in that discussion and that exchange I was labelled in a way which was totally unfair and out of order. In a democracy all views should be welcomed and respected.

There are probably two reasons that the Government does not want to hear the voices of ordinary people. The first is that is the Government is terrified of their replies and the honesty that they would receive. The second is that Government is simply indifferent to people's concerns on this particular issue. We live in an utterly changed European environment. We know, for example, that in France, President Macron's coalition championed the pact suggesting it could improve the EU's governance framework on migration policy and take better control of the Continent's external borders. What was the response of the French people? Their response was the obliteration of his party and his coalition at the first available opportunity.

The simple fact is that the deep structural problems created by uncontrolled levels of mass migration cannot be solved by the very people who allowed these problems to become a reality. The people of Ireland and indeed the people of many EU member states are light years ahead of their governments on this issue. They want a solution to this problem that undermines the nation's sovereign decision-making capacity. The pact is morally and politically bankrupt. It is the product of an EU establishment that is rotten to the core and which treats the views of ordinary citizens as political poison. I urge all Members to reject it. I urge all Members to avoid becoming complicit in the high-level political theatrics that this pact represents. The pact is weak where it should be strong and strong where it should be weak. It is weak on protecting national sovereignty but it is strong on maintaining in place the very many protections that are in place even for those engaged in illegal immigration. It is all wrong and I will not be supporting the EU migration pact.

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