Council of the European Union Decision: Motions
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Conor Murphy (SF), Industrial and Commercial Panel

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Sinn Féin will support the motion before the House today. However, I want to begin by making our broader position on migration policy clear. We believe decisions on migration should ultimately be made by the Irish people and Government, rather than giving those powers over to the European Union. That is why we opposed Ireland signing up to the EU migration and asylum pact in its entirety. We believe that handing away these powers undermines Irish sovereignty and limits the ability of an Irish Government to respond to the particular circumstances and needs of this State. This position does not mean that we cannot support individual measures where we believe they are reasonable and necessary, and the proposal before us today concerning the readmission agreement with Nigeria is one such measure.
Where someone comes to Ireland seeking international protection, they must have the right to have their application properly and fairly assessed. Every case must be considered on its individual circumstances and our obligations on non-refoulement and fundamental human rights must always be respected, but where that process has been completed and where an application has been fully assessed and a person been found not to have a case for international protection or a right to remain in the State, the resulting return decision must also be capable of being of enforced. That principle applies to all countries, including Nigeria. The majority of Nigerian applicants in recent years have not been found to quality for international protection, although a minority have been granted protection - that distinction is important. Conditions can vary significantly and no person's case should ever be predetermined simply because of the country they come from. There must also be transparency around those decisions, proper monitoring of outcomes and accountability in how an readmission agreement is implemented. We want to see an immigration that is fair, rules-based and compliant with human rights and that means protecting people who genuinely need international protection. It also means ensuring that decisions are implemented when someone is found not to have the right to remain in the State.
We cannot discuss this issue without addressing one of the biggest problems facing the system at present, namely the extraordinary length of time it takes to process applications. The backlog of applications before the International Protection Appeals Tribunal is now in excess of 21,000 and that is simply not sustainable. Long delays are unfair to the people who genuinely need protection, unfair to communities and unfair to those who eventually receive a negative decision after spending a considerable time in the State.
We need faster and fairer decision-making, proper enforcement of final decisions, effective return arrangements and full respect for our human rights obligations so while we are reiterating our position that migration should primarily remain a matter for the Government, Sinn Féin will support the motion.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29