International Protection Bill 2026: Committee Stage
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-18
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Alan Kelly (LAB), Tipperary North

I move amendment No. 8:
In page 23, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following:
"(2) A reference in this Act to a ‘measure of last resort’ means, in relation to an adult or a child, a measure that is taken only after all non-custodial alternatives to detention have been duly considered, in accordance with Recital 33 and Article 10(2) of the Reception Conditions Directive.".
This amendment defines "measure of last resort" to ensure that "non-custodial alternatives" are enshrined in the Bill. We are spending an awful lot of time in here on definitions, and here we go again. The amendment states:
A reference in this Act to a 'measure of last resort' means, in relation to an adult or a child, a measure that is taken only after all non-custodial alternatives to detention have been duly considered, in accordance with Recital 33 and Article 10(2) of the Reception Conditions Directive.
As the House knows, this directive ensures that on reception, people have access to appropriate food, clothing, housing, etc., and have the right to access work within six months.
What we are trying to do is to define in exact terms what this means so that we do not run into other issues throughout the rest of the Bill. It is critical that we do so. We are getting into new territory with this Bill as regards the role of detention. To ensure the Bill is legally robust, the amendment is critical.
The amendment will also ensure that we are going down the right road when it comes to the issue of the detention of vulnerable people and, indeed, children. The definition carries on. We need to ensure that we look at all alternatives available to the State in relation to how we treat people once they arrive in our country, the processes we put them through and the places in which we put them. I am and my party are not satisfied from a definition point of view that this is dealt with adequately enough in the Bill and that is why I am putting forward this amendment. I hope the Minister looks on it favourably.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:39+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-18