Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I recognise this is complex. I am not seeking to create a hierarchy of rights but I am concerned that we have sometimes built in assumptions as to what constitutes non-refoulement. That is really the core of it. That is why I am trying to tease this out. The matter is probably a little wider and relates to the Dublin Protocol. I might seek to engage with the Minister of State on that. It is an issue on which I engaged with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, when she was responsible for this area. The key comprises the principle of non-refoulementand our understanding of that. It has often been the case that we have had a quite narrow interpretation of it. At one point, there was a press for safe country lists and so forth. Internally within the EU, there is the principle that if somebody has transited through another state, that state might be the relevant state, but where it is explicit that the state is not going to vindicate the individual's human rights and intends to directly reject his or her rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, we are in a position that is very ambiguous. Those may be the two sets of circumstances I was seeking to address here. I am going to withdraw my amendment because it is not perfectly worded but I would appreciate it if the Minister of State's Department could engage on non-refoulementand its interpretation. I am conscious that an issue arose before over a narrow interpretation. New issues have also arisen whereby, very unfortunately, some of our EU colleagues that may be part of agreements have been very clear that they will not be fulfilling their obligations under them. We do not want the rights of the individual to be jeopardised as a consequence. I recognise that this issue is wider than that of smuggling alone; it is just that smuggling is a point of intersection. I would prefer the matter to be addressed for everybody, not simply those who have been smuggled. In that context, I might seek to engage further.