International Protection Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25 ============================================================ Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland That is an example of the public interest - the Minister did not get to come in on the phrasing in that regard - and public policy being used in that regard. In many cases, it would be in the public interest for persons who are relying on medication to be able to receive it until the point where they leave State, regardless of whether they are entitled to it. It is not a privilege. However, in cases relating to the public interest, it is the interests of the public, our health system and those who may be affected if persons who need medication have it while they are in the State. There is an argument in that regard. That would be if we are applying a public interest frame versus a public policy frame. We will see how this unfolds. The way it is worded gives rise to some ambiguity. However, I accept the Minister's comments to the effect that he believes that it is only to be applied in the case of those who are applicants. Of course,the question that arises relates to how it is worded in the context of confirming identity and nationality. Is it also to confirm if someone is an applicant? One of the phrases used in this regard relates to someone being deemed to be an applicant. I say this in the context that we are seeing some extraordinary shifts taking place with regard to things that were seen as basic powers. There are powers being granted that we are not going to have the opportunity to discuss. For example, immigration officers and gardaí are being given the power to enter homes and premise without warrants. I have been in the Oireachtas for three terms. Any time the idea of entering a building or a dwelling without a warrant came up, it became something of a constitutional issue. Yet, we are seeing very wide powers being granted that will allow people to enter a premises if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a person who is the subject of a deportation order may be present. Are people going to be accused of sheltering persons in their attics or garages? Any time the idea of entering buildings without warrants has come up previously, it has been the subject of very in-depth debate. This is an example of a significant provision that will be the subject of almost no debate. The Minister stated that migration is one of the defining issues of the 21st century. International displacement is one of those issues. The fact is that we are going to see an increasing number of wars and military actions and more conflict than ever before. Very large areas of the world are becoming physically uninhabitable as a result of the acceleration of climate change. The crisis lies in conflict and in the failure to take meaningful action in respect of conflict. It is, there is a leaning into it with a rush towards a new arms race that everybody wants in on. There is a failure to deliver on climate because it has dropped to the bottom of the political agenda. The natural outcome, if you make the world unlivable, if you lean into conflict and if you allow military actions, illegal occupations and a sense that might is right, will be displacement, yet that consequence is what is being framed as a crisis. It is a moment, but it is a moment at the beginning of the 21st century. It is a crisis of conscience. The question will be whether we learned the lessons from the 20th century when we moved away from colonialism and put in place human rights instruments, learning about the idea of all human rights? Are we going to forget what we learned in the 20th century and fail to address the challenges of the 21st century, which are the climate crisis, conflict and the undermining of international law, and are we going to instead try to suggest that this small group of approximately 1 million in total in Europe is the problem? It is that some of those impacted have reached our shores in Europe is what is being framed as a crisis. It is our crisis. It is a crisis of conscience that we need to be stepping up to. --- 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/seanad/2026-03-25/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-25