Seanad debates

Thursday, 12 July 2018

10:30 am

Photo of Paul GavanPaul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the refugee crisis when we return in the autumn. We know the issue dominated a recent EU summit and parliamentary sitting of the Council of Europe. A couple of disturbing facts emerged from Europe. Sea-Watch, a non-governmental organisation, NGO, made a presentation in which it told us very clearly that the priority of the EU at the minute is not to save lives in the Mediterranean but to force people to return to Libya. Effectively we have the EU handing people over to a Libyan coastguard which is no more than an armed militia. These people are then subject to forced incarceration, torture, rape and some are even being sold as slaves. It is absolutely shocking. I was also shocked to find that the detention of children is taking place in seven countries, including Greece, Hungary, France, Croatia, Finland and Belgium. We have our own history of shame of course when it comes to the detention of children but it is now becoming the norm across Europe. As part of my work on the migration committee, I intend visiting one of these detention camps on the weekend after next to see for myself the conditions that prevail there.

We must agree, on a cross-party basis, to do more as a country. Our target of taking in 4,000 refugees is simply not good enough. I should make clear that no country's response is good enough. Just as we took a lead yesterday on Palestine, Ireland needs to take a lead to ensure we do more to save lives and bring people to our country to give them a fresh start. We must show the way because our record to date, alongside all of the rest of the countries of Europe, has been very poor. I ask for a debate on this issue in the autumn.

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