Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If the Minister, Deputy Foley, comes in - she is in a committee at the moment - I will share time with her.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important motion. The EU migration pact forms a central part of our national response to the migration crisis. It is collective action working together to address a common challenge in a humanitarian way. That is part of the best traditions of the EU - its finest work of shared responsibility to undertake major tasks. Our migration policy is founded in compassion and common sense, responding honestly to the issues that emerge. That will remain at the heart of this Government's efforts. Our country has lived up to its moral and legal duties to shelter those who need shelter. We have opened our doors and offered help in keeping with our core values. The Irish people can take pride in a shared effort that accommodated unprecedented numbers of Ukrainian and international refugees, particularly over the past two years. We have not been found wanting when we were needed. The sheer scale of the challenge has tested us and has tested many communities, and many communities have stretched themselves to respond. The Government has moved swiftly to put in place new measures and to adjust policies, as practical, to a rapidly emerging issue. Fines for airlines, additional immigration processing staff, more gardaí in enforcement and expanded safe country lists are all measured and effective policies to adapt to an evolving issue. Furthermore, additional workplace inspections to tackle the shadow economy and means-test social welfare all help to ensure the public can have faith in the fairness and efficiency of our system. As the international context changes and migration and asylum demands continue, we need to do more to ensure we have a fair but firm and efficient immigration process. This pact forms part of a sustainable policy that lives up to our values and our legal obligations.

Some Opposition parties and TDs have advocated going it alone on migration. The main Opposition party tripped over itself on where its policy of open borders applies and, indeed, where it does not apply. We do not have to look too far to see where a unilateral approach brings us. Our next-door neighbour, Britain, departed from the EU to go it alone on migration. It has been completely ineffective and has led to an absolutely absurd spectacle of paying migrants to fly to Rwanda in expensive PR stunts. Those advocating we go it alone, in my opinion, are the Brexiteers of Ireland. They are delusional and cynical all at once. In the face of an international challenge, we need an international response. The EU is the single most successful international organisation ever established, an unprecedented vehicle for peace, prosperity and co-operation. It is the best shared means of addressing common problems. Why would we retreat from an organisation with a remarkable record of success in tackling major problems when it comes to a pressing global issue? Acting collectively with other nations is not a diminution of our sovereignty; it is, in my opinion, the fullest expression of it. There is a narrow-mindedness to a view that international co-operation in some way undermines our country. It strengthens it, and facing a global migration crisis, we need to work with others to form a strong and fair rules-based system drawing on our values of compassion, decency and common sense. Any country working by itself will be far weaker than us all working together. We cannot seal Ireland off from the world and proclaim it as a hermit republic.

The pact offers a fair and effective route forward, and I have not heard any viable alternative by those opposing it. It is cynical politics and it is not about practical solutions. We cannot allow malicious falsehoods to take root and darken our politics. We have to be honest about the scale and the impact of this challenge. We need to strive to live up to our best values and ethos. We will ensure common sense and decency are at the heart of this Government's policy, and the migration pact helps us achieve that.

To respond to a couple of the points Deputy Bríd Smith and others made, I have the honour of representing a constituency, Dublin Fingal, that is the most diverse in this country. I have always welcomed the new communities and new people who come into this country and have made our country better, stronger, more diverse and more welcoming. We have many tens of thousands of new Irish coming to this country every single year who add to and enrich our country. What we need to ensure is that the system we have on legal migration is fair - and it is. We issue tens of thousands of work permits every single year. We also need to ensure, however, that we work directly and in co-operation with our EU partners to ensure people are not exploited, to shut down people traffickers and to ensure we do not have illegal migration into this country. I think most people in this country are fair-minded. If a fair and efficient system is in place whereby someone has a right to asylum, he or she should be granted it and granted it efficiently. Where someone does not, there are other avenues where people can enter this country and work here and add to the richness of our State.

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