Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has questioned the need for 11 Sinn Féin TDs to speak on a single party amendment during debate on the controversial International Protection Bill.
The most radical reform of asylum law in the history of the State was passed on Wednesday night in the Dáil with a guillotined or significantly shortened debate.
Sinn Féin justice spokesman Matt Carthy had introduced an amendment requiring local or other State authorities to carry out and publish a community impact assessment before any international protection accommodation is established in a locality.
It also requires consultation with the local authority and community stakeholders.
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The Minister agreed there were many issues of concern, but said “the standard language” from all contributors was about profiteering, people being ripped off, local communities being upended and lack of proper consultation.
He said they had made savings of €80 million since May 1st on accommodation and the budget had reduced from €1.2 billion last year to €1.1 billion as the State moved towards purchasing and providing accommodation and speeding up asylum application assessments.
O’Callaghan said Sinn Féin had made “perfectly legitimate points of debate” but these could be made by the party’s justice spokesman. It “makes me wonder what’s the political purpose behind this from Sinn Féin”, he said.
More than 2½ hours were spent on the amendment, one of almost 300 submitted on the Bill, which aims to bring Irish law in line with the European migration and asylum pact.
Sinn Féin and all Opposition parties sharply criticised the lack of time for debate with eight hours last week in a single Dáil committee stage session and four hours on Wednesday night.
Fewer than 50 amendments of the almost 300 submitted were debated by the time of the final vote when TDs passed the legislation by 74 to 65. The Bill now goes to the Seanad.
The Minister said the vast majority of accommodation centres operate very peacefully and successfully. It was also important to emphasise the centres “accommodate human beings”.
It was very challenging for local communities and their representatives and every TD, including himself, had faced this.
“A lot of people don’t like change and they don’t like the unknown” but “that is not a legitimate reason, nor is [it] an acceptable reason for accommodation centres not to be pushed in certain areas”.
Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly said it was “shocking” the State was legislating for the detention of children “who have done nothing wrong”.
He asked how it could be explained on a day when the Taoiseach made an unequivocal apology to people who suffered abuse as children.
In the next decades, “the State will once again apologise to children it now tonight legislates for, by holding them against their will”, he claimed.
The legislation allows for detention of minors where it is in the “best interests” of the child.
