Dáil votes to opt into EU Asylum and Migration Pact

The Dáil has voted to opt into the EU Asylum and Migration Pact by a margin of 79 votes to 72.

The pact was debated in the Dáil both this week and last week.

The Government had argued that Ireland must look across the EU for solutions to rising levels of migration rather than isolate itself.

In March, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee announced that Ireland would opt into the pact, which will introduce legally-binding processing times for International Protection Applications.

It will also require a substantial increase in the number of staff processing applications, the building of new accommodation centres, enhanced border security and an increase in the collection of fingerprints.

However the pact has provoked controversy, with critics claiming that it is heavy-handed.

Sinn Féin has said Ireland must opt out of the majority of the pact’s provisions, otherwise the hands of future Irish governments will be tied.