Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to express my support for the EU migration and asylum pact. Migration has been always with us and has been always a part of the fabric of our life here. We in Ireland have a particular affinity with the United States, for example, and so many of our people went to the United States when times were very difficult here in Ireland, so we in Ireland have an appreciation, some small understanding, of those who have to leave their own countries in difficult circumstances to find new opportunities. John F. Kennedy, the former American President, whose great-grandfather emigrated from Dunganstown, County Wexford, noted the contribution that immigrants from Ireland and elsewhere had made to the United States.

He said, "Everywhere, immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life," We are very fortunate in Ireland to have workers from almost every country in the world making an immense contribution to our society and who are, in our instance, enriching and strengthening the fabric of Irish life. Our health service and hospitality sector in particular would not be able to function without them. Last night, I had the honour and privilege of attending the graduation ceremony for 91 teachers who have come through the migrant teacher project in the Marino Institute of Education in Dublin. It was truly a privilege to meet these students and to see their enthusiasm in becoming part of the education system. They will have an equal opportunity to strengthen the fabric of Irish life. They will have a pivotal position charged with the care of our most treasured resource, that is, our young people. We can also be proud our education system has become a beacon of integration and tolerance.

Some Deputies and Ministers have paid tribute to the incredible work that has been done to seamlessly integrate more than 18,000 children studying in primary and post-primary schools. That did not happen by magic; that happened because staff wanted it to happen. They put in the extra hours and do the extra work to make sure every child has a place and is heard, including those who are coming from war-torn areas. While the Department will support them in this, the work is done on the ground by those who welcome these children coming from a variety of circumstances across the world. Our schools have been enriched because of it.

There has been an increase in migration across the world in recent years due to the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions and the outbreak of violent conflicts across the world. It has, as we all know, led to the rise of far-right politicians in many countries across Europe. Recently, I was taken by the fact that the French football captain, Kylian Mbappé, felt the need to warn ahead of playing in the Euro 2024 football tournament, "the extremes are knocking on the door of power". I hope we never get to a situation in which members of the Irish men's or women's football teams feel the need to speak out against the far right like the French football captain.

As a country, we need to have a system of managed migration rather than illegal migration. The EU migration and asylum pact will allow Ireland to co-operate in a stronger way with other member states to combat illegal migration. There will be more collection of fingerprints and photographs of new arrivals, faster processing of all asylum applications and a greater focus on returning unsuccessful applicants to their own countries or to other European countries through which they have travelled. I welcome that under the pact there will be mandatory deadlines in Ireland and in other EU countries for processing asylum applications. This includes a six-month deadline for standard international protection applicants; even faster turn-around times for other asylum applications such as the three-month deadline for making decisions on applications for people from designated safe countries; and a two-month deadline for deciding on applications from people who have already applied for asylum in another EU country. It is true that some EU countries, most notably Italy and Greece, have been confronted with a wave of illegal migration. It is only fair the pact provides for EU countries, such as Ireland, to share some of the burden. Countries will be required to either agree to relocate applicants from countries under significant pressure or to take a financial contribution, which is the approach that will be taken by this Government. I support this pact. It is my intention, as Minister, to continue to work to support the tolerant and inclusive society we are fortunate to have in Ireland today.

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