Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity. I have listened to everybody. I feel like we are chaining ourselves to the asylum and migration pact in the sense of taking an all-or-nothing approach. While there are good elements to it, I have some fears in regard to it. The current system is broken and we have not got it right. We cannot buy a bee in a box because we do not know what will be in the final version of the pact and what powers we will have in terms of our own decision-making. It is in our gift at the moment to get things right. We do not want to surrender that right to the European Union. I say that because, although there have been many benefits or pros from the European Union, there have also been cons. The cons include what we have seen happen in the Mediterranean, as has been mentioned. We also see the ongoing issues in Palestine and the track record of the European Union on that. We have seen it with our fishing industry, which has been decimated. We should have a €6 billion or €7 billion industry here. While Europe can be good for us, it is not always good for us. We must recognise that.

People who are genuinely fleeing an injustice, where they are stuck in conflicts, war or persecution, and are seeking asylum should be given support. The problem is that the supports and protection do not seem to be available here. Such people must be treated humanely, which is not the case at the moment. Another concern is when people are brought into a community but there has been a lack of communication, including with us as public representatives. We know that the current processing times are too long. Reactive measures that are being taken by the Government have resulted in hotels being taken over. Again, the response is reactive instead of proactive. It instils anger in communities and frustrates people. Then we can add in the misinformation that emerges. We have all seen that. I want to focus on the procedures that are not in place in terms of the current level of communication. As soon as people in the international protection system are mentioned, or whatever you want to call them, as coming into a community to stay in a hotel or whatever accommodation, the myth goes out that they are all young men of an age for military service.

This is not true. The Department needs an awful lot more stringent, robust and rapid information going out and we know of many instances in this regard.

The slogan that Ireland is full has been referenced and I want to dispel it. We have had a crisis in health. We have a crisis in housing, which we had well before we had migration into this country. This is not the fault of those seeking asylum here. It is the ongoing fault of the inaction of the Government to plan properly over the years.

I do not think anybody mentioned the asylum and migration management regulation or strengthening Eurodac. These are things we can do. They are there to ensure there is more information on those who enter the country and to establish who deals with the vetting, who is tackling human trafficking and who is returning asylum seekers where it is appropriate.

Like everything there are pros and cons. I am very fearful about the fact we are signing off on something that will tie the Government, the next Government and the Government after that into something that may not work. To be realistic, while everybody has a sympathetic ear we have to get our own books in order first so we can provide what people are looking for. We want something that is efficient and clear but if people break the rules they have to be enforced. I would prefer to reserve the right to our own decision-making capacity in terms of the Government and not dilute it to the European Union as such. For this reason I cannot support the motion.

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