Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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2144. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality given significant concerns regarding EU plans for third country deportation, the steps he is taking to assess the consequences of such measures as well as the historical issues associated with such programmes before choosing to opt-in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44266/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department continues to focus on preparing for the Pact in advance of June 2026. A National Implementation Plan was submitted to the Commission in March 2025.

The General Scheme for the International Protection Bill 2025 was approved by Government on 29 April 2025. It has been published and referred to the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for pre-legislative scrutiny.

It is expected that drafting of the Bill will be completed by the end of the year. Enactment of the Bill and commencement of the Act is required by June 2026.

Last month the government also approved opting in to several EU measures in readiness for the Pact coming into effect.

These measures will allow for:

• Establishing an EU-wide list of safe countries of origin.
• An amendment to the way the ‘Safe Third Countries’ concept is applied at EU level.
• The establishment of a common system for the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the EU.