MEPs from government and opposition parties have different views on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty and Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin have very differing views on it.
From the government side, Doherty said the legislation was going to “govern the return of people who do not have the legal right to remain in the European Union.”
Doherty said, “this agreement is not about people who have come to Europe legally, those who are working, studying or contributing to our communities, nor is it about people who have been granted international protection.”
“It is about creating a common European system for dealing with cases where a person has gone through the legal process and has been found not to have the right to remain,” she explained.
Doherty asserted that Europe’s migration system has come under “significant pressure in recent years” and that greater cooperation between European states is needed.
“Until now, there has been no truly coordinated European approach to returns. Different countries have had different systems, different rules and different levels of enforcement. This agreement helps bring clarity and consistency to that process.”
The Fine Gael MEP said that many countries are “struggling to cope” with migration pressures.
“Return rates across the European Union currently stand at around 20 per cent. Too often, people who have been ordered to leave simply disappear from the system before a return can take place. The EU Migration Pact is designed to help manage those pressures through a more coordinated European approach, with clearer rules and greater cooperation between member states,” she said.
Doherty said the crux of the issue was tackling misinformation surrounding migration; discourse around migration has become a political flashpoint in Ireland, as it has across the EU.
“There is far too much misinformation circulating online about migration. Too often, complex issues are reduced to slogans, outrage and false claims. People deserve facts, not fear,” Doherty said.
“A migration system must be both fair and credible. That means protecting those who genuinely need protection, welcoming those who come to Europe legally to work and contribute, while also ensuring that decisions reached through due process are respected.”
Ó Ríordáin views the legislation in a different way.
The Labour MEP said that the legislation is comparable with ICE in the United States, and said that Fine Gael’s European grouping, the European People’s Party, teamed up with the far-right to pass the legislation.
Ó Ríordáin has criticised Fine Gael MEPs for working with MEPs from far-right parties such as Germany’s AFD or Spain’s Vox party to pass hardline immigration policies.
He said that the legislation “tramples fundamental rights,” but there was little progressive forces could do as the right-wing had a majority in the European Parliament.
“What we are seeing agreed in Brussels this week is Europe building its own version of ICE. Warrantless home raids. Offshore detention centres. Children locked up. It is a dark day for fundamental rights in the European Union,” he stated.
“Fine Gael’s group in the European Parliament has once again found common cause with the far right to make this happen. While Fine Gael politicians go to Washington every year to lobby for amnesty for undocumented Irish immigrants, their MEPs are back in Brussels voting to lock up migrants in detention centres outside the EU. The hypocrisy is breathtaking,” he remarked.
“Make no mistake, this is part of a broader rightward shift in European politics, but also in Irish politics. For months now, we have seen the Tánaiste and Taoiseach, as well as other Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil figures, recklessly linking migration and homelessness — dog-whistle politics that have no place in serious public debate,” Ó Ríordáin asserted.
In a 2024 questionnaire sent to all European election candidates, this publication asked each of the candidates, “would you work with MEPs such as those from the AFD in Germany or the PVV in the Netherlands if you are selected?”
Doherty replied, “I will not work with parties of that are far-right, anti-European, and xenophobic, this includes the AFD and the PVV. Fine Gael MEPs have always voted against their proposals in the European Parliament, and I would do the same.”