Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

In relation to Senator Ryan's understandable concern about persons who die while concealed in containers in attempts to enter the State, this legislation, far from increasing the risk of that occurring, will diminish it. It increases the number of inquiries that must be made by carriers before a person enters the vessel. By extending the obligations of the carrier, a further precaution is being taken against this type of activity. As was said many times during this debate, there is nothing unusual about insisting on this type of check.

Senator Ryan raised a fundamental philosophical point about immigration controls and smuggling. Once immigration controls are in place, smugglers will offer services to evade them. That cannot be avoided. Does the fact that persons put themselves at risk, or are willing to offer a service which puts others at risk, to circumvent legitimate immigration controls mean we should abolish such controls to avoid that risk? Every sovereign state must maintain some control over its boundaries. This touches on a point raised by Senator O'Meara, that carrier liability legislation has not worked in Europe. Such legislation is a feature of the legal landscape. Migration has increased dramatically in recent decades as is obvious throughout the European Union.