Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to refer to a headline that was published in The Irish Timeslast Friday that reads: "State sent €4m in funding for migrants back to EU." The European Commission confirmed that over half the funding provided for a series of projects was returned. That is a sorry state of affairs.

The general programme on solidarity and management of migration flows consists of four instruments called the European return fund, the European fund for the integration of third-country nationals, the external borders fund and the European refugee fund. The relevant Minister must be asked why €4 million was returned to the European Union and not drawn down at a time when we need to work closely with refugees and the other people who are covered by the remit of this funding. A number of MEPs have raised this matter in the European Parliament. I thank and acknowledge their work on this issue. We should hear from the relevant Minister about this matter.

I do not want to rehash the ongoing saga mentioned by Senator Mark Daly earlier. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs shall attend the House this evening for a debate which is welcome. I am not sure we will have enough time for the debate given the public interest in the topic and the desire by many Senators to ask questions and receive detailed responses. Within the limits that are possible, I ask the Leader to slightly extend the period allocated for the debate and I know the final decision rests with the Senators. We need time to tease out the issues and, more importantly, to hear what the Minister has to say. Yesterday, I sat in the Visitors' Gallery in the Dáil and she demonstrated great clarity when she spoke. Without doubt, many Senators will want to ask her questions later today.