Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on the European migration and asylum pact. I will answer some of the questions asked about what Europe is doing to prevent or ease conflict elsewhere and stem the flow of migration. It is important to look at the proportion of the European Peace Facility that is used to try to prevent conflict in Africa, reduce the incidence, duration, intensity and severity of conflicts there and support the African Union. Some 10% of the facility is used for those purposes and for a range of different measures that come up in an incidental way.

I will give some examples. Some €185 million has been provided to the African Union mission in Somalia to support the military component of the mission to maintain stability there. Funding has been provided for military training facilities and non-lethal equipment for soldiers trained by the European Union training mission. Some €20 million has been provided to the multinational joint task force against Boko Haram and €35 million to the Sahel joint force to strengthen the resilience of the joint force. These efforts are part of the European Union's external focus and its broader defence policy of trying to maintain security in the external environment of the European Union. Essentially, it is an effort to support governments to maintain peace and reduce conflict, not only because it is a good thing in itself but also to try to prevent migration that does not have to occur. The European Union does this for humanitarian reasons and for regional stability. It is a significant part of the programme. While the bulk of the European Peace Facility goes towards Ukraine and maintaining stability in the western Balkans, which is extremely important, it is also very important to acknowledge that 10% of that facility is focused on supporting the African Union. Perhaps we can have a more detailed debate in the Dáil on that but it must sit alongside this conversation about the European Union.

As Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, I represent Irish interests. I very much believe it is in Ireland's interest that we adopt this pact and be part of a collective action across Europe to deal with the collective challenge and opportunity presented by migration. Of course, Ireland is an open economy. We are entirely reliant on international talent coming here to work where there are jobs available for people to do. We are in the proud position of having a workforce, of which 18.5% comprises people who were not born in Ireland. That is twice the eurozone average. That is something to be very proud of. It has contributed to our culture, economy and society in very constructive ways and we will see the benefit of that over time.

EU membership has hugely advanced Ireland by making the economy more open and also making the country more open culturally and open to people coming here and building their lives, whether through study or work. People born in Ireland are also taking the opportunity to live and work elsewhere in the European Union.

We have a robust employment permit system to bring in skilled people from outside the EU where gaps remain, especially in critical areas. We have had occasion to extend that list further and further in recent years because we have a very tight labour market. Being part of the European Union also gives us broader benefits, chief among them is our being part of the political stability of a continent that has had a turbulent and unstable history. Other benefits include access to the Single Market, increased funding and investment opportunities and better social, environmental and consumer standards.

The real benefit of the European Union is the maintenance of the rule of law, political stability and peace on the Continent in circumstances where that has not always been the case. That is threatened now and the only way we can counter that threat and maintain the values of the European Union, which are, in essence, the protection of democracy, fundamental freedoms and human rights, is to maintain the rule of law in a collective way. That is why the migration pact is so important. It enables us to act collectively in solidarity and in concert with our friends and colleagues in Italy, Greece, the Baltic states and the Balkan states where these pressures are much more acute than they have been in Ireland to date.

It is important to understand the pressures that other countries are facing as well as the pressures that we face. In particular, I am minded all the time to think of my colleagues from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, countries which have experienced secondary country movement by people coming from very difficult circumstances, as we have, but also a different type of migration, namely, instrumentalised migration - let us call it "weaponised migration".

Our colleagues in the Baltic states have repeatedly seen hundreds of people being flown to Belarus, bused to its borders with Lithuania and elsewhere and pushed across to deliberately destabilise those countries, economies and peoples, amplified by messages on social media that this is a bad and unwelcome thing. This is the sort of weaponised migration that other countries are facing. It is part of the conflict with Russia. They are clear that this is what is happening. It is happening at the same time as cyberattacks and a range of other destabilising measures.

There is also the effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has displaced some 4 million people. They have had to leave their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring countries, including in the EU. This is apart from the weaponised form of migration that I have already mentioned.

It is clear that, due to climate change, weaponised migration, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and broader conflicts, we have a migration problem that greatly exceeds our ability to act alone. The only possible way of managing this process in a rule-of-law way that respects human rights, protects individuals on a pan-European basis and allows us to ensure that our values of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms are applied is by opting into this directive and acting collectively. By opting in, our laws will be aligned with the EU’s for the first time.

I understand the deep, good and constructive dialogue that is being had about the details of the directive. That is important, and there are a series of measures to be advanced in the House to cover the details, but I do not see the articulation of a serious alternative in managing this difficulty. Ireland participated constructively and collaboratively in this EU work for a long time. If the directive is to be criticised or if it is decided that it not be implemented, then it is important that alternatives be given. I was disappointed by Deputy Doherty asking on radio last week about an extension of the temporary protection directive and about what Ireland planned to do if that directive ended next March. The question of whether the directive is extended is a European Union competence. It is not a matter for the Irish Government on its own. The question of whether it will be extended was not considered by the Deputy. The question of what would be happening in Ukraine at that point was not considered by him. Two or three days after the local elections, his suggestion was that we should send Ukrainians back to safe parts of Ukraine as though any of us would be able to identify where those safe parts would be today, next week or several months from now. It is that sort of very unhelpful commentary that dilutes the genuine discourse of a serious issue that is going to become part of our political dialogue over the next ten or 20 years as we deal with the effects of climate change. We have to deal with it in a serious and collective way, one that commits us as part of Europe to the European project and to the values of Europe.

If people have objections to this directive, they should provide alternatives in a serious and constructive way. I for one am pleased that the European Union has put this together and that we will have the opportunity to act collectively. It is important that we opt in, as we are doing.

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