Post European Council Meeting: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-22
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Thomas Byrne (FF), Meath East

What we are doing was announced by the Minister yesterday. We were pushing to have this agreement suspended, but it was not possible to reach an agreement.
With regard to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Council of Europe, that matter is a separate from the European Council. We are strong supporters and strong activists in the Council of Europe, as a government. I am meeting the General Secretary, Mr. Berset, this week. We will continue to support the Council of Europe and all of its work. In relation to any declarations or policy positions that may be made by member states, that has been discussed by the member states.
I reject the earlier comments. I know the Deputy did not say this directly, but the implication given was that, somehow, we want to torture migrants. That is not the case. What is the case is that we want to make sure we have control of our borders, as member states of the Council of Europe. That is a reasonable position for governments to take. We want a firm migration policy, one that is fair to migrants and is human rights-based, but also fair to the citizens of Ireland.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-22