Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 January 2014
579. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality Ireland's current position on the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1217/14]
View answerThe Deputy may be aware that Ireland like all other EU Member States has not yet signed or ratified the Convention in question. A key issue is that a significant portion of this UN Convention does not distinguish between legal and illegal, or documented and undocumented migrants. In effect the Convention obliges countries to provide entitlements to workers about whom they have no information and who have entered a state illegally, and its provisions for combating illegal immigration, which effectively amount to only one article, are largely untested.
My Department is also mindful of the common travel arrangements with the UK and Ireland's position within the EU. In respect of the Common Travel Area, we would have serious concerns about entering into a largely untested international migration treaty which could have possible negative effects on illegal immigration flows between the two jurisdictions. Similarly we could not conceivably enter into a migration treaty to which none of our EU partners are party. Such an action may prejudice our position on participation in future EU migration policy initiatives, in particular those which may deal with illegal immigration.
