Mick Clifford: Helen McEntee needs to get better grip on immigration brief

The main opposition party didn’t cover itself in glory on the asylum issue either this week

The thrust of Helen McEntee's position is that the proposed EU pact on asylum and migration is a good thing as it would ease the forthcoming challenges of migration because we would be acting in concert with most of the rest of Europe. File photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

There was plenty of red meat on the menu this week for the ‘Ireland is full, close all the borders’ crowd. Legitimate questions were raised about the operation of the State’s international protection system. The Justice Minister Helen McEntee, who has become a bete noir for those convinced we are being overrun, was shown to have a shaky grasp of her brief. 

There was further examination of the proposed EU pact on asylum and migration. And it turns out that we do indeed have an open border across which large numbers of asylum seekers cross unimpeded.