I welcome the Minister of State to the House.
International Protection (Family Reunification) (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage
SECTION 1
Question proposed: "That section 1 stand part of the Bill."
I note Senator Kelleher wishes to speak on the section.
At some stage I would like to speak on that section, if that is possible.
We will hear from Senator Kelleher first.
Of course.
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, to the House. We had the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, here on the last occasion. I am delighted we have been able to bring this important Bill back to the House on Committee Stage. I thank the Senators, a majority of whom voted in favour of this Bill on Second Stage on 19 July. As I and others have said time and again in this House and in the Dáil, Ireland is failing in its duty to adequately respond to the global refugee crisis, the worst since the Second World War. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, 65 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution. There are currently more than 22.5 million refugees, half of whom - 11 million - are children.
Two years ago, Ireland made a modest promise to welcome 4,000 of those refugees by the end of 2017, which is just two months away. Despite great plans, we have only welcomed about a third of that number. Welcoming refugees at a time of global crisis is the right thing to do. When governments fail to meet promises and their moral obligations, such governments are standing on the wrong side of history. Essentially, this Bill will make it easier for our Government to fulfil its promises to people in extremis through no fault of their own other than to be living in the wrong place at the wrong time. This Bill will help our Government to reach its modest target of welcoming 4,000 refugees by undoing possibly unintended but definitely ungenerous measures contained in the International Protection Act 2015 by narrowing the definition of "family". By excluding the extended family, which is an unrecognisable definition for most Irish people, the possibility of family reunification has been made far more difficult. Our Bill proposes to go back to an earlier more recognisable and more generous definition of "family" for the purposes of family reunification, which served us well from 1996 to 2015. This, as well as removing overly restrictive time limits for applying for family reunification, are the main thrusts of this Bill. We should remember that in terms of how we respond and vote.
Having considered the Bill since July and listened to the debate, I put down a number of amendments aimed at improving the Bill. Regrettably, two of the three amendments were ruled out of order. Amendment No. 1 would have changed the rules on marriage to ensure they are inclusive of LGBT people who may have been denied the right to marry in their country of origin and who have only been able to have a relationship since they arrived in Ireland. This has been ruled out of order. I am told it would put a charge on the Exchequer.
I must correct the Senator. We are on section 1 on Committee Stage.