International Protection Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-25
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Aidan Farrelly (SD), Kildare North

Many of the points have been already made in support of Deputy Gannon's amendment. I truthfully cannot believe we are here legislating for the detention of innocent children. It is shocking that they can have committed no crime and done nothing wrong, yet we are legislating for their detention apparently if it "is in the minor’s best interests", despite the fact that we have heard from every corner of the expertise on this that it is never in the child's best interests. I am fascinated to hear what the Minister of State will say as to the justification for this. How can this be explained on the day when the Taoiseach, sitting where the Minister of State is right now, made an unequivocal apology to those who have suffered? In ten years', 20 years', 30 years' or 40 years' time, the State will once again apologise to the children in respect of whom it is legislating tonight for holding them against their will. I have serious, significant concerns about the determination of this; the decision-making. Who has the capacity? Who has the competency? On what grounds will these decisions be made? For how long? Where? The Government has told us in the legislation where this will not happen but it has not told us where it will happen. It will not tell us who will do this and on what grounds but it says it will ultimately always be in their "best interests". It is never in the best interest of a child to detain them, never mind the fact that it is proposed to detain them simply for existing.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-25