International Protection Bill 2026: Committee Stage
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-18
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Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (SF), Cork South-Central

This issue received a great deal of attention in mid-2024. At the time, the Government handed a bit of a gift to the Conservative Government in the UK by the way it communicated this, and the Conservative Government seized it with glee. The Government in Britain was under pressure at the time and tried to take every advantage to capitalise. The Irish Government is potentially in a different situation whereby it can perhaps make more headway in this area. The section on which we are seeking clarity relates to the ability of the Government to make decisions and designate a third country. For this to work to the greatest extent required, though, there needs to be a bilateral agreement with Britain. I hope that the Minister of State can provide me with an update on the progress of any such negotiations. It has been touched on for quite some time. The First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, has raised this issue.
It is important that the Irish Government seek to persuade the British Government that it is in the interests of both countries to ensure there is an orderly process to ensure that people are returned in cases where they are unsuccessful in one jurisdiction and then seek to make an application in another or various other circumstances. Obviously, such returns must ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, people are treated with dignity and respect, but it is important that the returns happen in order to ensure that the system works.
It should be possible to persuade the British Government that it is in nobody's interest not to reach an agreement. The flows can go in both directions. There could be a see-saw effect, whereby at one stage the flow is in one direction and at another time it goes in the other direction. It should be possible to make headway with the British Government and persuade it of the need for an agreement on returns. That has not happened at this point in time. The space exists for it. Will the Minister of State give us an update as to when this is likely to take place?

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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