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

I agree with the Deputy's initial point. It was made clear under the Lisbon treaty that security issues and migration are a European competence, but we fought to ensure we had the opt-in so nothing would be forced upon us. What we are now talking about is no different from any of the other measures we have already opted in to. It is an upgrading of many of the options we are already a part of.