Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

I do not want to rehearse what happened this morning but the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform should learn from the mistakes of the past. This Bill is being rushed through. Though one speaker said it is necessary to deal with the Bill today, if it is not going to the Dáil until Wednesday afternoon we could deal with it next Tuesday.

Taking the Bill today shows a lack of respect for Senator Terry and the other spokespersons on justice, as they have the right to consult organisations which are interested in the legislation. Those organisations are not being treated fairly either, and though they may not count for much with some people in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, they are reputable organisations. If we did not have bodies like the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the Irish Refugee Council then legislation would be passed which would ride roughshod over people. That is why it is regrettable spokespersons have neither had the chance to consult those bodies nor a period of time in which to put down rational amendments. The Bill did not have to come to the House today.

The urgency with which the Bill is being treated here should be applied to more pertinent issues. In the past I have raised the way the Irish Prison Service is practically collapsing because of a dispute between the Minister and the Prison Officers' Association about overtime. There is overcrowding in prisons, prisoners from Spike Island are being transported to Dublin and there was a murder in prison in the last few days. That is an incredible state of affairs. The most recent murder before that was in 2000 but a prison is the last place one would expect a murder. It is a pity these issues are not addressed. Today's newspapers state that €30 million was spent on consultants' reports in the last 18 months, while the Minister is trying to save €30 million in the ongoing overtime battle.

Previous speakers have mentioned the issue of disability. The Minister of State should clarify this aspect of the Bill, as EU law specifies what is acceptable and what is not. He should be very careful because everyone was glad to jump on the Special Olympics last year and say they cared for people with intellectual disabilities, yet legislation like this creates doubt in this area. Senator Jim Walsh quoted Kofi Annan on Europe: "An open Europe will be a fairer, richer, stronger, younger Europe — provided you manage migration well," but Mr. Annan also said there could be a meaner, poorer, weaker and older Europe. It is worth considering the contribution made in the past six years by 300,000 people who came to the country from both within and outside the EU. It is the largest migrant movement in the EU outside Luxembourg, so there is a degree of acceptance about it.

I often sympathise with those who come to Ireland. They probably want a job but while their case is being processed I see them walking the streets of Limerick, day in, day out. When one looks at our past, Irish people were glad to be accepted in and contribute to the USA, Canada and other countries. We sometimes have a rather parsimonious and frugal approach to immigration.

The Minister of State always has a responsible approach when he comes to the House but there is an arrogance in the way the Bill has been introduced to the Seanad which shows a total lack of respect for the House. If the Government wants to ramrod this through today it will do so without us and, I am sure, without the rest of the Opposition. We will not participate beyond Second Stage. That is our protest.