Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions Dail Éireann — 2026-03-18 ============================================================ Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South It was a very important message that the Taoiseach delivered. It is an extremely difficult time in terms of the relationship between the United States and Europe. I thought it was a real advantage for the Taoiseach to be there yesterday, as the leader of a European country that is not a member of NATO. I think he did Ireland and Europe proud in terms of setting out the values of Europe and, indeed, in setting back some of the rhetoric of President Trump, which as everyone can appreciate can be difficult at times. I also welcome what the Taoiseach had to say not just in respect of Keir Starmer, but also in respect of Europe being a great place to live and, indeed, in respect of immigration. The Taoiseach did emphasise in respect of immigration that there was a rules-based system operating not just in Ireland, but throughout Europe. One of the criticisms of President Trump's regime is that there are no rules in respect of immigration in Europe. That clearly is not the case. The Taoiseach deserves to be commended in respect the message he delivered yesterday. In terms of what Deputy Bacik said about immigration law in Ireland, as I have repeatedly said, the Government wants to ensure that we have a rules-based system so that people will know whether, according to those rules, they qualify to stay in Ireland or, if they do not qualify, that they have to leave. There is nothing performative about deportations. They are an essential part of Ireland's immigration strategy, and neither I nor the rest of the Government are going to apologise for them. If we do not have deportations, I would like Deputy Bacik to tell me in her reply what the response should be when somebody with a deportation order refuses to leave the country. Deputy Bacik also criticised the new immigration policy that is being formulated by the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and me in the Department of justice. For many years, we have not had a migration strategy in Ireland and it is important now that we formulate one. It has been too much developed on a haphazard basis. I think everyone will benefit from seeing a written down policy in respect of a migration strategy. Deputy Bacik criticised me for including within that policy paper that was drafted a number of weeks, if not months ago, a reference to the fact that immigration policy should be for the benefit of the Irish people. It is astonishing that I have to stand up here and say any policy I develop is not going to be for the benefit of the Italian people or for others globally, but for the benefit of the Irish people, in the same way that the Minister, Deputy Heydon, would develop an agriculture strategy that would be for the benefit of the Irish people. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-18/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-18