Government set for EU talks on migrants crisis
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald confirmed she will “have the opportunity to discuss the next steps with my European colleagues” at the EU’s next justice and home affairs council meeting on October 8, after a row erupted over claims Ireland is failing to meet its moral obligations on the issue.
German chancellor Angela Merkel said countries with an “opt-in” clause on EU-wide issues such as Ireland, Denmark, and Britain should take in more migrants and called for a new quota system to be set up based on a nation’s comparative wealth.
She was speaking after 71 dead migrants — including four children — were found in decomposed conditions in a van in Austria. The comments were made against a backdrop of thousands of migrants fleeing crises in North Africa and the Middle East, and hours before a boat with 200 people on board sank off the coast of Libya yesterday.
Fianna Fáil’s spokesman on European affairs Timmy Dooley said Ireland’s “reputation as a caring and compassionate country is at risk” if we turn a blind eye to what is happening.
The Immigration Council of Ireland warned we will still be talking about the crisis “100 years from now” if nothing is done.
Despite the criticism, Ms Fitzgerald last night insisted Ireland has already taken in “nearly double” the initial number of migrants agreed with the EU and been at the front of rescue missions in the Mediterranean — adding that there are no plans to increase the quota.
She voiced her “concern” over “certain commentary” giving the wrong impression, and that she will raise the situation with her “EU colleagues” at the meeting in October.
