David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First of all, the situation has not changed since the last time that we were here. The Government opposes the Bill in its entirety in line with its decision to refuse to grant the money message for the Bill. This is being done because of the impact that the Bill will have on the already small amount of accommodation available for those fleeing conflict whom we have committed to house under the Irish refugee protection programme, IRPP. The Bill would add significantly to the pressures on the supply of housing where existing family members reside. It would make it impossible for local authorities and others to quantify how many individuals may ultimately have a right to reside in a local area following an offer of accommodation to one family unit. Ireland already prioritises families under the IRPP as both the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, and I have said in the Second Stage and Committee Stage debates. This Bill is undoubtedly very well intentioned and I agree with colleagues who have recognised that, but it has unquantifiable impacts on the resources required, including for social housing and other State-provided supports.

Ireland already has a broader definition of family reunification than other member states facing significant demands on their services. By seeking to broaden the scope and definition of family members eligible for family reunification and reintroducing an open-ended process, the Bill would also have the unintended but direct consequence of limiting the support that the State can provide for future international crises by way of resettlement and humanitarian admission of refugees. The Government's position is that the International Protection Act 2015 should continue to operate to support the maximum number of families rather than a smaller number of families being able to admit larger numbers of extended family members to the disadvantage of others.

I will take the opportunity to address an issue which has arisen since I last addressed the House about this Bill on Committee Stage in November. The Civil Engagement group has queried the statistics on the number of applications for family reunifications. I made my intervention particularly by reference to a parliamentary question answer by the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, on 29 November 2017. That parliamentary question answer gives the number of applications for family reunification each year between 2012 and 2016 and the number of eligible family members included in those applications. It does not provide a breakdown of the number of family members applied for per application. In the briefing document circulated by the Civil Engagement group in advance of Report Stage, the table included, although the source is listed as the Houses of the Oireachtas, is not the table included in the official response by the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, in the parliamentary question on 29 November. An additional column has been added to the end of the published table which refers to the average number of eligible family members applied for. This has not been prepared by the Department of Justice and Equality and is not part of the Minister's response to the parliamentary question.