Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I welcome these statements. It is very important to have debate on these issues. However, it is also important when having this debate to have it in a reasonable, informed and safe space because it seems that anybody who engages in debate on this issue now is criticised by one side or the other as being extreme in one direction or the other. That is a really regrettable state of affairs. Some Members who have contributed to this debate so far have been quite unreasonable but rather than train my guns on them, I will specifically raise an issue that came up in The Irish Times this week. Columnist Fintan O'Toole criticised the Tánaiste for remarks he made outside Cabinet.

Criticism of the remarks is fine but I found something in the paper of record that was unworthy of The Irish Times and unworthy of Fintan O'Toole. There was a twisting of what was said, followed by a suggestion that it was misinformation. He did that by suggesting the use of the word "migration" means "immigration". If he had actually listened to the entirety of what Deputy Harris said, the Tánaiste was at pains to point out that we need immigration. Throughout this debate, I have heard people talk about immigration, despite the fact this is entitled Statements on International Protection Processing and Enforcement. It is not about immigration but migration and people who come here seeking our protection.

I am dealing with a situation where I have a huge IPAS centre on the border of my constituency that very much affects the people in my area. I am not saying that should not happen. I welcome it. I am trying to communicate it with the people in the area but by doing so, I am getting criticism from other people online. There is not a reasoned space where we can actually debate the real issues here and suggest what can be done. There are definitely legitimate criticisms that can be made of the Department and the manner in which it manages IPAS. For example, there is consistently an information vacuum. There seems to be a decision made within the Department that it will not trust members of communities in local areas. They do not actually trust them to give the information well in advance so they actually know what is happening in their area. People are entitled to know what is happening in their area. They are not entitled to veto it. Nobody gets to decide who lives next door to them but in the absence of information from the Department, other people fill that vacuum with misinformation.

Speaking about misinformation, Fintan O'Toole namechecked me in his article too because I defended what the Tánaiste said. He suggested the Tánaiste conflated migration and immigration, notwithstanding his clarification later on in his comments. When he said there was too much migration into the country, there is justification for that comment. The reality is that 80% of people who come here and apply for international protection are found not to be entitled to it and are therefore the subject of a return to the country they came from. Migration is down 47% in 2025 compared to 2024. Still more than 16,000 people have come here this year. That is still a major problem because it creates huge pressure on the system. Let us not accuse people of misinformation when they have in fact stated facts. Let us allow people have space to debate it in a reasoned way that allows them to actually look at the real issues.

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