Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We also must acknowledge that we need a system for those who seek international protection that has a structure that is firm and fair to those who genuinely need protection and help. We want to provide that help. We cannot provide it to everybody. Globally, there are millions of people on the move. We want to play our part and we will play our part but we must have a structure and a plan. I have listened to the debates here. I missed the beginning of some but been briefed on them and, even with the debates last night, I have not heard a single suggestion or solution as to how we deal with and have a plan in place to deal with the fact there are millions of people on the move seeking a better life.

We are doing what we can to address the root causes of migration. With climate change, we are playing our part here. We have passed very significant laws to make sure we play our part, as is Europe. We are engaging globally and internationally where there are conflicts, where we can deal with the root causes and support countries to develop their own economic situations so that younger people and others are not leaving and fleeing in pursuit of a better life. However, we must ensure that when people do come to our shores, we have a plan that will protect those who need our protection and return those who do not, and this is the plan. The reason this Government has proposed that we opt into all seven measures is that we have negotiated this plan and worked through these options. There is nothing in this that does not benefit Ireland. There is nothing in this that will not benefit those who seek protection. This is not about eroding people's rights. This is not about diminishing the human rights of any individual. This is about making sure we have a plan, that we can implement it and that those who are most vulnerable can access the support they need.

What is in it? We have a screening regulation. We cannot opt into that if we are not in Schengen. However, we will emulate it and copy it. We will make sure we put in place a similar system so that when we gather information, we can share it with our European colleagues and vice versa, and that those who are vulnerable can be identified in the very early days when they arrive in Ireland.

Second, we have a returns system. The Senator said the reason he does not want to opt into this pact is because he does not like the way that migrants are being returned, yet he is saying he wants to opt into one of the measures that actually means we would remove people from this country and returning them back.