Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome, as always. Sinn Féin is against this motion. Like others, we are disappointed that the Minister is taking it as one whole motion as opposed to giving us the opportunity to vote on individual segments. There are two segments that we would somewhat reluctantly endorse relating to the asylum and migration management regulation, AMMR, because it seems there is a there is a degree of common sense in applying it, and Eurodac. Personally, I have significant reservations about it but I can see the logic of trying to use Eurodac to reunite families. I have reservations about the idea of fingerprinting children as young as six. I find that very uncomfortable as a concept.

There are clearly issues of sovereignty here. We are in a position, along with Denmark, of being able to opt out, so we should think carefully about this. The fact that we have a common travel area with a country that is not a member of the European Union is highly relevant here. It means we need the agility and ability to manage the situation ourselves rather than handing it over to the European Union. It is a commonsense point of view. I am really concerned at the fact that we were an hour into this debate before human rights were mentioned.I am kind of taken aback by that. It is not as if the European Union has a good record when it comes to human rights. It actually has an appalling record. I have the privilege of being a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I was vice-chair of the committee that deals with migration, refugees and displaced persons and have heard first-hand of the horrific conditions that meet people trying to make their way to the European Union. The Minister may recall I have, I think on two occasions, raised the Libyan Coast Guard with her via Commencement matters over the last number of years. I would be amazed if she defended the Libyan Coast Guard, but she is signing up to a pact where it will play a key role in rounding up people and bringing them back to Libya where they are subject to slavery, rape, torture and murder. Maybe she would like to explain that in her response, because I certainly could never sign up to that.

The European Union values we hear so much about are nowhere to be seen in practice. Senator McDowell mentioned detention centres. It sounded as if he was suggesting we perhaps need them here. I do not know and want to be fair to him.