Colm Brophy
Dublin South-West · Fine Gael · Ireland
“The Minister has outlined very clearly our intention in relation to this matter. We have always been very clear that the ARP would be a temporary provision. It was introduced in 2022 as a response to a crisis, always with the view that it would be phased out. That remains the case.”
“It is important to look at the ARP in the context of what is happening here. We are reducing the payment back to the original rate in order to fulfil the original intention. We thank the people for the generosity they showed in opening their homes to Ukrainians who came to live with us here in Ireland.”
“It is important, as the Minister has mentioned, to recognise and thank all of the people who participated in the scheme, and to recognise the work of the Irish Red Cross and the many people who have made the scheme a success. We recognise that there are difficulties with schemes, and that is why this one has been under constant review.”
“What we want to work towards is a solution which recognises that contribution and which examines how, in the longer term, we can work with the Ukrainian people in our country and with the Government of Ukraine in order to ensure that a pathway exists for them to either continue to live here or, if they so choose, to return home.”
“lreland ratified the convention on International Women's Day, 8 March 2019. Zero Tolerance: Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence 2022-2026 is structured around the four pillars of the convention, namely, prevention, protection, prosecution and policy co-ordination.”
“Some of the treaty provisions relate to the justice sphere and, therefore, Title V of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In light of Ireland’s position under Protocol 21, the court determined that two decisions were necessary, one to cover areas coming within scope of Protocol 21 where an opt-in is required and another t…”
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“I thank Senator Scahill for raising this matter. I apologise that the Minister is not here. I appreciate the Senator's comments on the importance of Ministers addressing these issues when Senators raise them. I am aware Senator Scahill has been very active in raising this matter. The Minister has asked me to make the following statement. At the beginning of this year Storm Éowyn caused unprecedented electricity outages and exposed critical vulnerabilities in our grid system arising from unmanaged vegetation and the proximity of forestry to infrastructure. Following the storm and consultation with utility operators, the Minister has directed officials at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment to explore legislative provisions to safeguard electricity infrastructure when passing through forestry.”
“I will, of course, bring the Senator's concerns to the responsible Minister and ensure he hears those concerns. I will also add my knowledge of Glenveagh and how wonderful it is. It is important from the perspective of tourism in Donegal that we seek to maximise accessibility to places such as Glenveagh. I recognise the Senator's concerns and will bring them to the attention of the relevant Minister. I will ensure he is fully aware of what is happening.”
“Nevertheless, as part of its ongoing workforce planning, the Department keeps this matters under constant review in to ensure that all priority vacancies are filled in a timely manner and that resource allocations are balanced across the Department to meet key priorities, as necessary. The Department's latest round of formal workforce planning is under way. This process seeks to strategically assess gaps in service delivery that can be addressed on a priority basis in light of available resources.”
“It is not unusual to manage such sites on a five-day, rather than a seven-day, basis with reduced services on weekdays. This will be reviewed over time in line with the Department's workforce planning. In that regard, and the Senator asked specifically about the issue, staffing levels across the Department, including the NPWS, are kept under regular review, in line with emerging business needs and Government policy on public sector pay and staffing as advised by the Department. While there were recent retirements addressed in terms of staffing levels, Glenveagh National Park currently has a strong staffing complement of over 50 permanent staff, including a dedicated park manager, a new role that was filled in 2024.”
“In addition to amenities such as walks, trails, viewing points and toilets, the visitor and exhibition centre, castle gardens and shuttle bus remain available to the public almost every day. A charge is levied for the optional use of the shuttle bus and to tour Glenveagh Castle itself. I appreciate that while the information desk in Glenveagh Castle also remains open seven days a week, tours of the castle are only operating on a five-days-per-week schedule, with tours currently not scheduled on Mondays and Fridays. This arrangement was introduced to ensure health and safety requirements are met and to ensure available staffing resources are maximised across the park, while reflecting patterns of visitor demand and minimising the impact to the public.”
“I thank the Senator. I know Glenveagh and have been there many times. It is a lovely place. It is one of Donegal's great treasures, as the Senator knows well. He has been a strong supporter on this issue. I am here representing the Minister. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has primary responsibility for nature conservation, wildlife protection and the preservation of our national parks. I assure the Senator, on behalf of the Minister, that Glenveagh National Park remains open to visitors seven days a week all year around and as with all national parks managed by the NPWS, entry is free.”
“We will also deliver Ireland's first ever national migration and immigration strategy. I am proud of what we have done to maximise the efficiencies in our immigration and international protection system. As the Minister said, we will have a €7.5 million increase in the budget for people being removed through both voluntary returns and enforced deportations, which are an important part of a system that must be firm, fair and effective when it comes to dealing with immigration.”
“We have a 50% increase in funding for the processing of international protection appeals, with an increase of €750,000 in funding for the international protection appeals board. We also have a new allocation of just over €5 million to the new appeals body which will be created under the pact. This will allow us to speed up the processing of appeals in the same way that we have done with the initial processing of initial applications. A capital budget of €40 million will allow for further investment in State-owned accommodation options. I am delighted to have secured a €1.5 million increase in funding for migrant and community integration initiatives, enabling and improving community connections all across Ireland. This budget delivers a substantial investment in our immigration systems.”
“As the House has heard from my colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, the justice budget of €6.17 billion for 2026 will support a robust, rules-based immigration system. The additional funding for immigration and international protection will improve our systems, speeding up processing, strengthening the return and ensuring that Ireland is fully ready to implement the EU migration and asylum pact in June 2026. This budget ensures we have a firm, fair and effective immigration system that will also represent value for money. Some of the key provisions will include resources to implement the EU pact on migration and asylum for June 2026. Additional staff have been provided in immigration and international protection services. The budget also meets the full-year cost of the very significant staffing increases we have delivered in 2025.”
“The regional manager of the Courts Service is working to ensure that all of the relevant people, including the Presidents of the Circuit and District Courts, the relevant Circuit and District Court judges, the country registrar, the coroner in the court, An Garda Síochána and practitioners, are informed of the current situation, as there may be a need to move sittings from 1 October. This Commencement matter is very pressing and immediate and the Senator's concerns are very appropriate. I will make sure that the Minister is made aware of them.”
“The Senator has raised this very important issue and made his views very clear. I will make sure that they are passed on to and directly heard by the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, as regards the importance of maintaining the courthouse in Donegal. To provide an update, the Minister has indicated that the Courts Service is initially looking at a move to Ballyshannon on a temporary basis. That is approximately 20 km away and 20 minutes by car. I will point out the importance of looking for a suitable venue in Donegal town, as the Senator indicated. He made his case very clear on that.”
“The OPW is awaiting a timeline and costing for this survey. The outcome of the survey will inform the next steps in relation to the courthouse in Donegal. The regional office intends to explore whether there are any suitable temporary venues within Donegal town.”
“Based on that advice, the OPW was asked to provide a costing for the repairs required for the roof in its entirety, which was forwarded to the Courts Service in August 2025. A further on-site meeting with the OPW took place on 2 September 2025. During those discussions, it became apparent that further investigative works would be necessary to determine if any additional structural and associated works were required. The OPW has indicated that opening-up works will be required to facilitate the completion of a structural survey of the building. The Courts Service was further advised about the concerns the OPW had regarding the continued use of the building in its current state. The Minister is advised that the OPW has organised for a full building conditions survey to be carried out, including a mechanical and electrical conditions survey.”
“On behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. The Minister has advised that Donegal courthouse will be closed temporarily as a result of health and safety concerns. Work has been ongoing with the Office of Public Works in order to determine the required works and the associated costs. The main and most serious safety issues relate to the entrances for both the public and courthouse users and the judge. Both of the ceilings in the public entrance porch have partially collapsed. In November 2023, the OPW provided a costing for the repair of the flat roofs at the courthouse. These works were approved by the Courts Service and communicated to the OPW. However, the OPW subsequently advised that the existing roof would also need to be replaced due to its condition.”
“These are inclusivity, respect for others, working together, and having a system of rules and laws while recognising we have to do it in a way that is inclusive. I will take one final moment to speak about the importance of our flag, which I am wearing today. Our flag is a flag of inclusivity. It should not be abused or used in a way designed to send messages that we want to exclude or we do not want to be an inclusive country. We have to recognise what the Tricolour really is all about. It is a great representation of the type of Ireland we surely want to see, not only for the people who are here today but for the people who will be born in future generations and the people who will arrive to our country to join us in the years ahead, which I believe will be to build a much better Ireland.”
“When I left school in the 1980s and college thereon, most people emigrated. We came back but an awful lot of us emigrated. We made contributions in other countries first and then came back to make a contribution in Ireland. We are going to have a very different Ireland from this. If people will forgive me for mentioning "The Traitors Ireland" on RTÉ, I was struck the other night by how this programme represents the new Ireland. It represents people who have come here, including someone who, I heard her say, had come here through international protection. If that programme had been made ten years ago, it would have been a very different type of programme. It shows so clearly that the new Ireland we are going to have will not be a homogenous Ireland. It will be an Ireland that I believe still has to have the basic values we hold dear.”
“What we have to have is good, clean people providing good services. We will have to rely on some commercial providers for a long time into the future, but the majority of the services we provide should be State-run services, saving the State money and providing first-class accommodation and requirements to people. I would say, in general, in terms of how we are looking at migration, we are going to bring forward a plan next year. As I mentioned in my opening contribution, it will be the first time we will have a migration plan for our country that looks at how Ireland will be in the future and what we want. Yes, we do have to have not only this type of discussion but a willingness to make decisions about the Ireland we want to see in the future. It is going to be different to the Ireland of my youth.”
“The Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, and I have both been very clear that we want to negotiate down the commercial contracts, because it is essential. We want people providing good quality, effective, proper services to people who are going through our international protection system. There are allegations made regularly concerning whether the type of providers or people involved are good providers and whether people are involved in organised crime. I have been opposed all my life, since I was a teenager and entered politics for the very first time, to people being associated with organised crime. I would never support that. It does not matter to me whether it is an IPAS centre, laundering diesel up around the Border or changing currencies. There is no time for people who are involved in crime or doing things wrong.”
“There was a contribution made which talked simultaneously about our school system at breaking point and then concluded with the final remark that it is absolutely vital that people come here because they are keeping teachers in place in the school because the numbers have gone up. You have to be careful if they are going to make those type of contributions that you recognise that that is basically contradicting yourself within the space of four minutes. Yes, there are real, valid concerns in communities and we want to address them. That is why we put community integration teams in place, because we recognise we should not have the way in which we dealt with what was an emergency response when the numbers soared after both Covid and the Ukrainian situation. We want a properly planned system. We community integration and involvement.”
“About 80% of people are deemed not to have made a valid claim after they make their claims. We have to have a deportation process at the end of that for those people. We also have to have the facilities and the integration programmes, which are absolutely critical. There are a number of funds in my Department which are all about recognising that integration is vitally important for those who have come here and will be making their new life, whether they have come here with a work permit or have come and claimed international protection and been successful. I have very little time, I have to be honest - maybe I should not say that - when people try to say both things simultaneously.”
“It is right we have a discussion about how we deal with them. It is right we opt in to the migration pact, which will mean we will process people making that application in 12 weeks on average. Do you know why that is right? It is right because it is right for them, first and foremost, because it takes them out of limbo and gives them clear certainty in a regular period of time. It is also right for the country because if we are making decisions at that speed and rate, we are going to reduce the overall cost to the State of providing international protection, which is a key factor. It is wrong that we are spending so much money on IPAS at the moment; the Government recognises that. It is why we want to move to State-provided facilities. It is why we want to cut the cost and reduce the overall number of people arriving.”
“I say to some Members who made comments, which were, in my opinion, ridiculous nearly, about wanting to in some way change the system so that we would not have the doctors and nurses or the construction workers to build the hospitals and houses we need that that is not a credible position and needs to be called out for what it is. We need a system that allows people to come here and work. The most important thing we do every year is to make sure that key, skilled workers come here so we can continue to deliver the services all the people living in this country need and rightly deserve. I will always support that. One of the Senators made an important comment about the absolute attention paid to international protection applicants. International protection applicants amount to 3 to 4% of people coming into our country.”
“I thank all of the Senators for their contributions. It has been a very interesting discussion, with a very interesting range of views expressed, some of which I would agree with and some I would have issues with. It is very important to restate some of the things I said in my contribution at the start. We must have a firm, fair and effective system concerning immigration and migration into our country. There is nothing wrong with saying or wanting that. It is important not to allow Members to misrepresent the fact that we do not have open borders. We do not have an out-of-control migration system. We have a regulated, rules-based system. We have a system which effectively allows people to come here to work because they are providing essential services.”
“I believe there have been efforts to cause division in our society and it is important to reaffirm that Ireland continues to welcome people who want to come to our country to work and to contribute positively to society. We not only want them here but need them here. It is against this background that it is more important than ever the public have confidence in how our migration system operates. I have put in place a series of measures along with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to ensure we have a firm, fair and effective immigration system, one that is robust, enforced and ensures our borders are protected. This will remain a key priority for me as the Minister of State with special responsibility for migration. I thank the House.”
“I also acknowledge my Department's community engagement team, which was established in late 2023 to engage directly with elected representatives, local authorities, NGOs, community forums, local services, An Garda Síochána and others in advance of the opening of accommodation centres. The purpose of the team is to communicate and inform through sharing accurate and timely information on new and existing accommodation centres based in the community. This is a much-needed development, on which I acknowledge we have not done as well as we should have in the past. Conscious that I am reaching the end of my time, I will finish by emphasising how important migration is to the development of our country.”
“For those in the system, I and my officials are developing a contribution model to ask people in accommodation who are going through the system to make a payment. People who have applied for international protection can currently apply for permission to work after five months and, if granted, they can work after six months. While not all applicants are working, many are and it makes sense for people earning an income and paying taxes to also make a contribution to their accommodation costs. I will be bringing forward proposals for this contribution model in the coming months.”
“With our fellow member states, Ireland will implement the EU migration and asylum pact next year. This major piece of reform to asylum systems across Europe means that we are collectively strengthening our systems and protecting our borders. People currently going through the application process and living in IPAS accommodation represent just 3% to 4% of non-Irish citizens who are living in the State, and it is important to remember that fact. I know, and fully recognise, that accommodation for those in the international protection system is an area that has caused concern to communities. The focus of the Government is on developing more State-owned accommodation from a range of sources, building a very sustainable system and reducing our reliance on commercial providers.”
“We need to make sure that it is there for people who need it, that is, people fleeing war and persecution. To do that, we have focused on scaling up the decision-making process and ensuring faster decisions, which is central to a functioning immigration system. It allows those who need our protection the ability to get on with their lives rather than waiting in limbo. It also means that those who are not entitled to be here leave the country sooner. Last, it sends a clear message that applying for international protection is not a backdoor into our country. This strategy is working. From the beginning of this Government, applications for asylum have reduced by 40%. I also recognise that asylum is a transnational issue and Ireland cannot deal with it alone.”
“I have said since I became Minister that I want an immigration system that is firm, fair and effective, and the reality is that a system has to have a removals process for people who have been refused permission to remain. It is important to ensure that the public has confidence in the application of our law in this area. Put simply, if people are in this country who have not followed the rules and do not have permission to be here, they must leave. If they do not leave voluntarily, they will be deported. We are talking about a relatively small number of people, but we must hold firm on this particular principle. Every system has rules and everyone has to play by those rules. That is as it should be. This principle will also apply when it comes to the international protection system in general.”
“Among the wider changes in migration patterns into Ireland, those particular events have contributed to a public discourse and attitudes that have had a real impact on local communities throughout Ireland. This phase in migration is new. We understand the Irish public are experiencing that change and genuinely have legitimate concerns. They want to be reassured that the immigration system in this country is managed correctly and its rules enforced. Ensuring that we have a firm, fair and effective immigration system that is rules-based is a key focus for me and the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. Most people coming into Ireland are here to work, study or join their families. To do this, they have gone through our immigration system and have shown they met the criteria. They have followed the rules.”
“My Department is currently working on a national migration and integration strategy that will set out how this Government intends to meet the opportunities and demands facing our society and economy over the next decade, and this will be published next year. This is the first time such a strategy has been undertaken and I am determined that our approach to migration is rules-based, planned and coherent. While we understand the immense value of migration to us as a small nation, we cannot ignore the challenges it presents. The parallel events of increased international protection applicants following Covid and the horrendous war in Ukraine, which has displaced millions of Ukrainians across Europe, has placed pressure on accommodation capacity over the past three years, which has been felt right across our country.”
“That year, nearly four in ten doctors registered to the Irish Medical Council were trained outside Ireland. Our construction industry heavily relies on our current ongoing migration. In 2023, there were 27,500 migrant workers in the construction industry, an increase of 84% since 2021, amounting to 12,600 workers. These are the people who are helping to build our homes, Garda stations, prisons, schools and hospitals, which we need. They are doing the things we need the construction industry to do and it is vitally important that we have the skilled workers to help to do that. Across all sectors, be it technology, agriculture, hospitality and business, migrants help our country to grow, succeed and provide quality public services.”
“The Government is determined to combat racist crime and protect all vulnerable communities. Attacks on migrant communities, whether those attacks are physical, verbal or particularly online, are utterly unacceptable. Everyone has the right to live safely, free from intimidation and abuse, regardless of their background. The vast majority of Irish people are positive towards migration because we know as a country the value of migration to Ireland. Migration benefits our economy, our public services and our infrastructure. It has made Ireland a pluralist and open society. Approximately 20% of our neighbours, friends and coworkers were born outside the island of Ireland. In 2023, more than 23% of all nurses and midwives directly employed by the HSE were migrants and 15% of those were from India.”
“I was happy to have an opportunity to engage with representatives of the Indian community in the wake of these attacks. The community has made, and continues to make, a vital contribution to Irish society in our health services, our universities, our businesses and right across our culture. They are our colleagues, our neighbours and our friends. Let me be clear: there is no place for racism or xenophobia in Ireland. The Government is working closely with An Garda Síochána to ensure those responsible are brought to justice, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect every member of our diverse and vibrant society. We stand with the Indian community. We value them and we are committed to ensuring their safety and inclusion in Irish life.”
“I welcome the opportunity to address and talk about migration. We have seen the discourse on migration has become increasingly fraught right across the world, not just in Ireland, but here in Ireland we have not been immune to the impact of this polarising debate. We have seen anti-immigrant protests on our streets, stirred up by social media. We have seen the dark consequences of the anti-immigrant rhetoric in the shocking racist attacks on our minority communities. In particular, I want to express my deep concern and unequivocal condemnation of the recent attacks on Indian nationals here. These acts of violence and intimidation are utterly unacceptable and stand in direct opposition to the values we hold as a nation, which are respect, inclusion and dignity.”
“I urge Members in the House to take a moment to reflect on whether we are doing enough here to foster that respectful dialogue in this space. I encourage everyone, as part of that conversation here today, to be inclusive, to be respectful and to help shape an Ireland that we can all be truly proud of and that reflects the best traditions of our hospitality, our fairness and our hope.”
“There are people who seek to instill fear and division and to exploit what are the legitimate concerns of communities. They do that for very dangerous reasons. This is something that all of us here must firmly reject. We must support the proper use of our national flag. One must respect the flag. Our flag is a flag of inclusivity not division. We should recognise this and always make that point. I believe fundamentally that our response to migration should always be rooted in truth, in empathy and in the significant area of unity. We need to encourage local communities to play a central role through education, leadership and shared experiences. When people meet and talk, when people have an opportunity to work together and to be educated together then there are no grounds for conflict.”
“They have come here because we have asked them to come to provide essential public services in our hospitals, tech companies, construction industry and so many other areas. They are contributing on a daily basis. We must constantly be aware of and recognise that. With regard to IPAS centres, I will be looking at developing a contribution model for the cost of accommodation. After five months people can apply to work, and if they are still in an IPAS centre after six months they can work. If people are earning and paying income tax they can make a contribution to the cost of their accommodation. I will bring forward proposals in this area to the Government. Before I finish I want to speak on one issue, which is the troubling rise in far-right agitation and racism we have seen in recent times.”
“That purchase, over 25 years and with an operating cost model, will offer savings of over €1 billion while delivering a permanent State asset. Now we have approximately 4,000 beds being directly provided on State-owned lands. This is an increase from a figure of just 700 in 2024. We have further potential purchases we are considering, and alongside that we have the possibility of identifying State-owned sites for viability for modular and prefabricated accommodation. The Minister mentioned the facts around IPAS centres and it is important to have that exact figure: while 3% to 4% of non-Irish citizens who are living here in this State are in IPAS centres, the vast majority are here working and contributing. They have come to make their lives here.”
“There are still 23,000 people from Ukraine in State-supported accommodation and many more are receiving payment under the accommodation recognition payment, ARC system. While the demand for IPAS accommodation remains high the rate of increase in new applications for international protection has reduced since October 24, as the Minister outlined. The State is currently accommodating 33,000 people in over 320 IPAS centres around the country, 9,000 of whom are children and families. The Government's current focus for international protection is to develop more State-owned accommodation in a range of sources. We are committed to building sustainable systems to reduce our reliance on commercial providers. In an important step in implementing this strategy the State recently purchased the Citywest hotel and conference centre for €148 million.”
“Specifically on accommodation, 90% of our current accommodation needs in this regard are commercially provided through contracted service providers in the range of settings we are all familiar with such as hotels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation and former commercial properties. Most of that capacity was added to the system post-2022. The demand for accommodation for Ukrainians has actually reduced significantly over the past year to the extent that many former accommodation contracts have ended, including almost the entirety of the student accommodation centres that were originally involved. This is freeing up much-needed accommodation this September for college students.”
“Ireland responded, as one would expect, in a comprehensive manner and it supported tens of thousands of people, either directly or indirectly, with accommodation and other supports. These parallel events placed pressure on accommodation capacity over the past three years and we acknowledge that this has been felt right across the country. Among those wider changes in migration patterns into Ireland were those events of the invasion and the inward migration after the pandemic. These contributed to a change in public discourse and attitudes. They have had a real impact, which we have seen right across our local communities and throughout Ireland.”
“We have expanded into the international protection system to increase the speed with which asylum and decision-making takes place. We have invested in services for newly arrived migrants and refugees to support integration. One area I want to acknowledge in particular is accommodation. Providing accommodation for people applying for international protection is an obligation for us under Irish and EU law. As the Minister said, Ireland saw unprecedented surges around 2022 in the number of international applicants. This does not happen just here in Ireland: it happened across all EU member states and internationally directly after the pandemic. The Russian invasion of Ukraine saw a massive humanitarian response right across Europe. This resulted in 110,000 people coming to Ireland fleeing that conflict.”
“We also understand that migration encompasses a range of legal, social, economic and humanitarian challenges. In dealing with that we have to have a firm, fair and effective system. This is imperative to maintaining public confidence in our immigration system. This, however, must also stay true to the values that we hold of openness, human rights and international solidarity. In the face of these pressures, I acknowledge the great work being done across government and especially within the Department the Minister and I are leading. We have introduced new work permit schemes and we have streamlined residency paths to ensure we can attract the best talent. This also continues to ensure our country's economic growth.”
“As the Minister of State with responsibility for migration, I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak this afternoon on what I believe is one of the most important issues facing our country, which is migration. As a Government we need to address this. We need address it with the spirit of integrity and of compassion, and with a rules-based approach, as the Minister said. One of the things that we here in Ireland have learned really clearly is that whether it is emigration or immigration, migration shapes a nation. It has a huge impact on it. I am sure that all of us here recognise, and certainly the Minister and I do, the incredible contribution that migrants make to our country. Every day they are contributing right across our economy and our neighbourhoods.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: Council Recommendation on a coordinated approach to the transition out of temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 26th June, 2025.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 as regards the application of the "safe third country" concept, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 13th June, 2025.”
“It should be noted that these proposals have been formulated to ensure compliance with international human rights standards, which is a central element of the pact. The Council recommendation on temporary protection seeks to ensure that reintegration for displaced persons takes place in a compassionate manner. Therefore, I hope the House will support the exercise of Ireland's opt-in in respect of these measures. I thank the Deputies for their consideration of this important matter.”
“A co-ordinated exit is crucial to minimise secondary movement and remove the risk of fragmentation while protecting our international protection system, which was a key objective of the directive's activation. It was intended to seek approval for an opt-in to the returns regulation under Article 3. However, the particular manner of Ireland's participation is still under discussion with EU counterparts, given the complexity of the legal basis issue. This issue will be formally discussed by all member states in the relevant working group later this month. Following that discussion, if the emerging consensus is that an opt-in under Article 4 of Protocol 21 would be more appropriate, I will instead ask officials to pursue that path and will seek the House's approval of the same in due course.”
“The application of the safe third country concept has been updated to ensure the flexibility of member states to apply that concept in their international protection process, while safeguarding the fundamental rights of applicants. This is an important element of the asylum and migration procedures toolkit. The Council recommendation on a transition out of temporary protection considers that eventually temporary protection must come to an end. However, it recognises the need to ensure a smooth and sustainable transition to eventual reintegration in Ukraine. For that reason, the measure aims to ensure the provision of information to displaced persons to enhance the co-ordination and monitor the exchange of information between member states and Ukrainian authorities.”