THE DÁIL HAS voted in favour of opting into the EU Migration Pact.

It aims to overhaul the European Union’s border and immigration policies, making laws uniform across the bloc.

The legislation has been widely condemned by humanitarian organisations for restricting people’s right to seek asylum and codifying the EU’s most hostile border practices – like using detention centres and outsourcing processing. 

This evening TDs voted in favour of the pact by a slim majority – 79 to 73.

The Pact will take time to implement but in Ireland we’re not waiting and have already introduced improvements to our system. We must protect those who need it, where they are fleeing war or persecution, but also be able to easily return people with no entitlement to be here.

— Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) June 26, 2024

Opposition parties had taken issue with some aspects of the Pact, but agreed with other measures such as the sharing of data among EU states.

The features they opposed include a provision that will allow countries to suspend their asylum systems in “emergency” situations and the use of detention centres to keep asylum seekers in a kind of legal limbo while their claims are “screened”.

At a debate last week, Taoiseach Simon Harris prefaced his arguments by saying that Irish people want those fleeing war and persecution treated with “compassion”.

“But we also need to see that balance with common sense,” he said while attempting to push back against “myths” spread by people on the far right. 

He said it was his duty to ensure that Ireland has a “coherent and effective migration policy”. 

Tánaiste Micheál Martin insisted that the Pact would “ensure fair, efficient and effective action to manage new pressures from migration”.

Martin said the Pact represents the “most realistic chance” of creating a comprehensive system for migration. Ireland’s participation is “vital”, he said.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the Pact will establish a system that is “firm but fair”. 

“Our system was not designed to deal with the volume of applications” that Ireland has been receiving in recent years, she said, adding that existing legislation is “no longer fit for purpose”. 

She also said that not joining other EU countries in signing up to the Pact would leave Ireland isolated. 

With reporting by David Mac Redmond