Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The measure before this House represents a balanced, ambitious and important initiative to improve the ability of Ireland and our fellow European countries to address very real pressures which have grown due to the scale and nature of migration from outside of Europe. It seeks to ensure that we share burdens, co-operate actively and protect the integrity of the system for protecting those seeking asylum. The asylum and migration pact represents a large-scale restructuring of Ireland's asylum system, a restructuring which will be both firm and fair. It will ensure a faster and more effective system for dealing with applications and directly address issues which have arisen because of the new patterns of migration that have emerged in the past decade.

Let us all be very clear on one thing: those who want to seal off Ireland from the world, those who aspire to some mythical purity on this island know nothing of our past and have nothing to offer a country whose progress and prosperity is fundamentally based on its diversity and engagement with the world. Their attempt to import the "little Englander" mentality continues to be overwhelmingly rejected by the Irish people. As we see every day in culture, sport and enterprise, the Irish people are deeply proud of the diverse faces and histories which represent us to the world. Irishness is not, never has been and must never be something that is fixed and unchanging. The people who fought for and founded our State saw it as a place with multiple identities, open to the world and embodying the most important republican principle of all - to reflect the diversity of its people.

The attempt to exploit sincere concerns about the impact of new levels of migration to Europe must be roundly rejected. We here as democrats must both protect the principles of humanitarian protection and ensure it quickly and efficiently enforces these principles.

A new era of migration is a global phenomenon and one which is impacting on Europe in particular. In one of the most barbaric examples of the threat to shared values in the modern world, we have even seen countries like Syria and Russia seek to use migration as a weapon against democracies.

No country can deal with challenges of migration alone. To address the pressures of migration in each of our states, we must have greater co-operation and co-ordination among countries of origin, transit and neighbouring countries. It is essential that EU member states stand together and respond as one to establish a more coherent approach to migration, asylum, integration and border management. Effective partnership among ourselves and with third countries is indispensable if we are to achieve sustainable results and better management of migratory pressures.

Our work in this area must be always fully consistent with our international legal obligations. We have to address all of the aspects of this extraordinarily complex issue, including responding to the root causes of migration. We need to look for alignment with our European partners in the area of asylum and migration. We need this to strengthen our ability to meet challenges head on. That is why joining the asylum and migration pact is so important. Through this we can deliver an asylum system that is both firm and fair, a system which is more efficient and capable of providing certainty and clarity at a faster rate for those seeking asylum, a system which protects rights but recognises that when a person is not seeking asylum because of legitimate concern about persecution, their cases should be dealt with quickly and they should return to their home countries.

Opting into the pact will allow for better co-ordination between member states particularly by enhancing data sharing. The pact will also facilitate the faster processing of applications as well as quicker returns of inadmissible and failed asylum applicants. Ireland experiences high levels of secondary movement of people who move from other safe countries before applying for asylum here and because of this, the reforms of the pact are essential for us. On top of this, without opting into the pact we would not be able to abandon any solidarity or burden-sharing mechanisms which could, if deemed necessary, alleviate pressures on our asylum system.

The Government has not been waiting on the pact to deliver reform. We are significantly ramping up resources at every stage of the international protection system. This is and will continue to be vital. The Government also introduced accelerated processing for applicants coming from countries that are considered to be safe in November 2022. This has led to a 50% reduction in the applicants coming from those countries. Since then, further countries have been added to the list with more under review. Ireland consistently promotes respect for the obligation on states to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons regardless of their migration status and has taken this approach into all of our international and multilateral engagements.

Through a programme for international development Ireland seeks to address the poverty, instability and lack of opportunity which can leave many people feeling they have no option other than to seek a better life elsewhere. We are committed to working towards a world in which migration is safe, orderly and regular, as called for in the global compact for migration.

We also work with international organisations for migration on issues around disinformation on migration and on harnessing the potential of diasporas to contribute to development in countries of origin and destination.

At the second global refugee forum in December 2023, Ireland made a number of pledges, including on resettlement, complementary safety and legal pathways for admission of refugees, and increased support for international agencies. It is important for us all to note the huge amount of work that will need to be undertaken to operationalise the pact at the same time as other member states in 2026. Work on transposing legislation will begin as soon as possible. Therefore, it is vital that the Commission is notified of Ireland's intention to opt in in the coming weeks. The European Commission has published a common implementation plan to support the development of member states' national implementation plans, which must be produced by December. The European Commission will also support member states with a substantial European Union budget to support implementation of the pact as well as technical and operational support to overhaul their national systems over the coming years. This funding will be distributed through the European Union Asylum Migration and Integration Fund and will help member states in areas such as IT and systems development.

I strongly believe that Ireland's opting into the asylum and migration pact represents the most realistic chance of creating a system that can process asylum applicants as fast as possible and as fairly as possible, and protect the integrity of the asylum system. Our opting into the pact at this stage demonstrates our engagement at an EU level on a global challenge. Through greater co-ordinated action with other EU member states, we can address gaps and key inefficiencies in our current system and ensure those with a valid asylum claim are offered the protection they need.

The pact will ensure a fair sharing of responsibility through stronger governance of asylum and migration policies across the European Union. Central to the pact is reducing movement within European countries, greater data sharing and situational awareness, faster processing and an increased focus on swift returns. Each of these is vital for Ireland in dealing with a challenge of a scale beyond anything we have experienced in the past.

We know that migration requires a humane, comprehensive and co-ordinated European response. The decision on who comes to Europe cannot be left to smugglers putting vulnerable people's lives at risk. The pact will ensure fair, efficient and effective action to manage new pressures from migration. Participation in the pact is essential for Ireland, and moving forward with preparations must start as quickly as possible.

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