We decided to propose the motion at this time and in this form because if the population grows to 5.56 million in the next two years, that implies we would have a Dáil comprising 185 Members, an increase from 174 at the current time. Nobody can project where it is going to go after that. There are all sorts of factors, such as demography, migration, asylum seeking, refugees and issues like that, which will determine precisely where our population stands in the next five, ten or 15 years. The crucial point is that o…

-----the 30 or 40 extra Deputies if we keep going the way we are. The real question is whether the draftsmen of the 1937 Constitution drew a distinction between a country that had a population that was significantly different from its number of citizens and one whose citizens composed its population. We now live in a different world, with EU rights of migration, asylum seeking and many people coming to Ireland on a transient basis to work for three, four or five years in industries such as the health service and th…

I thank the Minister of State and his officials for coming here this evening. It was an interesting debate. For instance, Senator Sharon Keogan mentioned the disparity in turnout and the numbers of votes needed to elect a TD. I was researching this and discovered the quota in Dublin Central was 6,561 and on the last census night 35% of the people of Dublin city - and this would be far more accentuated in city centre areas - were not born in Ireland. Maybe some of them were citizens but this reflects the difference …

I always dislike using exaggerated language, but I find myself disgusted, disappointed and shocked by the Government attempting to guillotine the debate on the International Protection Bill in this House. On Committee Stage, there are over 400 amendments. Based on a rough view of the amendments paper, approximately half of them are Government amendments. It will be proposed, in all probability, that all of those amendments will be adopted by this House without any discussion whatsoever. That will be the consequence…

I want to bring to the attention of Members Standing Order 179, which states: Twelve months following the enactment of a Bill, save in the case of the Finance Bill and the Appropriation Bill, the member of the Government or Minister of State who is officially responsible for implementation of the Act shall provide a report which shall review the functioning of the Act and which shall be laid in the Parliamentary Library. It is part of the rules of the Oireachtas that these reports have to be made. I am just signall…

I move amendment No. 25: In page 25, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: "CHAPTER 2 Powers of the Government to adapt, suspend and modify application of international protection provisions in the case of exceptional difficulties or emergencies Orders made by the Government 7. (1) Nothwithstanding any provision of this Act or of any other enactment relating to the provision by the State of international protection or reception of persons by the State as refugees or for subsidiary protection or for appl…

I second the amendment.

I have to accept the ruling, which I have been not been notified of, by the way.

Today? It did not get to me. I am just making that point. I am taken by surprise by that ruling. I do not understand why a commencement section is somehow out of order when it is specified that such a change should be made. I will not call a vote on the section, but I am very much taken aback by that ruling. The Bill was guillotined through the Dáil, and we now find ourselves dealing with it in this House. There are provisions in section 126 of the Bill that are an integral part of the border procedure aspects of t…

I thank the Minister for his brief answer - at least for the brevity of it - but as I read section 117, which concerns the asylum border procedure, the Minister is entitled to apply-----

Yes but I believe this is relevant. The Minister is entitled to apply the border procedure in the circumstances set out in subsection 2 of that section. They are the only circumstances in which it can be done. It seems to me that with the exception of paragraph (a), paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) are not really relevant to the claims made by the Government that this is going to massively speed up the investigation and decision-making process because the asylum border procedure can only take place following an applicat…

They have been told that this migration pact was the answer to all our problems and would speed things up, whereas, as far as I know, none of the people who travel through the UK has ever, at Carrickarnon or anywhere else on the Border, applied for asylum. This goes to the heart of the matter. The public is told this is a miracle solution to all of our problems because all of these people to whom this procedure applies will be dealt with in 12 weeks. However, they will not because the courts will be invoked almost …

The Leas-Chathaoirleach very kindly informed me that a letter had been sent to me.

It arrived at lunchtime while I was doing other business. That is the notice I got of the ruling of the Chair.

I want to put on the record of this House, lest anybody misinterpret anything I say in the course of the debate on this Bill, that I do not morally condemn young men, in particular, from disadvantaged parts of the world who see in Europe the opportunity of a better life from an economic and social point of view. I make no moral condemnation of them, no more than we collectively made moral condemnations of our own nationals who, at times in the past, went to the United States, outstayed their welcome and became ille…

A point that has to be made for honesty's sake in this debate is that we are sovereign in relation to economic migration, with the sole exception of the right of EU nationals to locate here under EU law, which none of us is challenging or saying is wrong. The Minister and his colleagues determine whether we need more Third World people to come to Ireland to do the valuable work many of them do in our social services and the like. We will probably have to make decisions about construction workers in the fullness of …

This judgment whereby compensation is paid to people who we did not have accommodation for is forced on us by the European Union. The judgment is clear. It goes through case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It should be an Irish decision whether to compensate people. It should not be forced on us by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Irish High Court judges should not be obliged by European case law to hand out money to people who came to Ireland when there was no accommodation for them a…

Not agreed. I have had no notice of this grouping.

No. I cannot speed read at the rate of the Leas-Chathaoirleach. We will take the Minister's amendment now.

I withdraw my objection to the grouping.