The EU Migration and Asylum Pact has tonight been passed in the Dáil. The controversial Bill passed by a margin of just seven votes, after 79 TDs voted to opt into the pact, while 72 voted against.
It follows a debate on the Bill both this week and last. While the government argued that the legislation will allow Ireland to make its asylum system more robust, opposition TDs hit out at the government for its “reckless approach,” with fears expressed about a potential erosion of sovereignty and financial penalties from the EU.
The passing of the legislation comes after the High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application seeking to prevent the Dáil from voting on the implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.
In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice David Nolan dismissed Michelle Keane action against the Government and Attorney General in the second action taken seeking to prevent the Dáil from voting on the pact.
The judge said that the application was “bound to fail” and said the court could not grant such an order as it would amount to a breach of the separation of powers of the court and the Oireachtas and Government.
Reacting, fledgling party Independent Ireland said the pact “causes considerable concern,” saying that it will reduce Ireland’s control over immigration and “cede further power to Brussels.”
Independent TD Mattie McGrath, meanwhile, said that it was “morally repressible and negligent” for the Bill to pass, saying that Irish people had been denied the opportunity to have the constitutionality of the pact tested by the court.
“This is not what the Irish people voted for [in the Lisbon Treaty] by a long shot. This pact will involve the single biggest transfer of sovereignty in the history our State. To give that away in a simple vote without any scrutiny or consideration of the constitutional implications will go down in the history of the State as the greatest ever betrayal of the Irish people by their own members of parliament,” he said.
Peadar Tóibín, party leader of Aontú, tonight said that his party had opposed the pact from the start.
“FG, FF and the Greens have passed the #EUMigrationPact,” he wrote on X. “They have outsourced another chunk to Irish sovereignty to the EU.
“Brussels will now decide the numbers of people Ireland will take and the financial contribution we make,” the Meath TD said.
In a statement, Justice Minister Helen McEntee tonight welcomed the passing of the pact, describing it as “the best way forward.”
“I welcome that the Dáil & Seanad have now approved Ireland opting into the EU Migration and Asylum Pact,” she said.
“This is the best way forward for Ireland & Europe to deal with migration issues together, with faster processing of applications, stronger border security, and faster returns.”
“The Pact will take time to implement but in Ireland we’re not waiting and have already introduced improvements to our system. We must protect those who need it, where they are fleeing war or persecution, but also be able to easily return people with no entitlement to be here,” she said.