Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)

I welcome the Minister. Reading through the proposed motions, the first thing that struck me was that we could have been doing this all along ourselves and, indeed, we have been doing it to an extent. Ireland should not have opted into the EU migration pact when we have the full capability to govern and legislate on migration ourselves. Now, we find ourselves in the scenario where we will have to adhere to an annual specific number of relocations and financial contributions at an EU level. We have ceded power to the EU on this.

To lock ourselves into an agreement when we have no idea what the financial state of the country will be in the future is incredibly shortsighted. We are now bound by this agreement rather than the Irish State and Irish people having the option to choose for ourselves our own policy on immigration. However, this is not about the responsibility of the Government or the capabilities of the Irish people. This is about our Taoiseach and our Tánaiste trying to be the best boys in Europe. Given the Government's subservience to the EU on all matters, whether it is immigration, neutrality or agriculture, we cannot trust that it will advocate for our best interests when it comes to the migration pact. It is only because of Aontú that the level of Government incompetence regarding immigration has come to light.

Most of the information and statistics in the public domain about immigration were uncovered by Aontú through parliamentary questions. We have long proposed the need for an Irish sea border to monitor the movement of people entering the country. Our Government needs to work with the British Government to see this implemented. Aontú is part of the North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association, and we will raise this issue on these forums to ensure cohesive and direct action happens. We have also highlighted the need for data collection and comprehensive record-keeping. In fact, one of the selling points of the EU migration pact was the ability of member states to share information regarding screening. What has not been published is that we cannot opt in to these screening regulations because we are not a member of the Schengen area. We still have no idea of the cost of this pact to the Irish taxpayer, but it is estimated that the additional staff alone are set to cost €32 million per year. The Government's decision to opt in to the EU migration pact is not because of a commitment to reforming and strengthening our immigration system, but about ceding power to Europe. If the Government is happy to relinquish any difficult policy decisions to the EU, then perhaps its members are in the wrong profession.

From the start, we have advocated for a strong immigration policy that distinguished between those who need help and those who do not. Ireland is capable of accomplishing this without allowing the EU to happily legislate for us at an astronomical cost. What happens if we say "No" to the EU? If we had said "No" to the pact, would the EU have fined us or taken us to court? That is not how democracy should work.