Seanad debates
Thursday, 3 July 2003
Immigration Bill 2002 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] : Report and Final Stages.
The new concept of safe third countries is being introduced into the Bill. This was not included in the Bill as initiated. Countries which might be safe for me and the Minister might not be safe for other people. Sending people back to other Dublin Convention countries might not mean they will be deported to what the Minister and I would consider a safe third country. I have spoken about this issue previously in the House and given a number of examples. Some years ago, for example, I occasionally appealed on behalf of doctors from Iraq. One of them, a surgeon, had fled the Iraqi army because he was being asked to amputate the limbs of deserters. I was told that Iraq was a safe country to which he could return. Shortly afterwards, however, half of the world had to invade Iraq because it was so dreadful and had weapons of mass destruction which could be shot at us in 45 minutes.
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