Politics

Wallace complains of comment refugee camp ‘the place for you’

TD says response of Minister for Foreign Affairs reflects worrying attitude to refugee crisis

Independents4Change TD Mick Wallace has lodged a complaint against Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan. File photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times
Independents4Change TD Mick Wallace has lodged a complaint against Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan. File photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times
Sarah Bardon
Tue Jun 21 2016 - 11:44

Independents4Change TD Mick Wallace has lodged a complaint against Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan for saying a refugee camp was "the place" for him.

Mr Wallace has contacted the Dáil’s Committee on Procedure and Privileges over the comment, which was made by the Minister during a debate on the refugee crisis on April 28th.

During the debate, Mr Wallace detailed his visit to Calais and Dunkirk in France with his colleague Clare Daly to see the conditions facing migrants in the towns. In response Mr Flanagan said: "That is the place for you."

Mr Wallace said the Minister’s response reflected a worrying attitude to the refugee crisis, which he said was why he made the complaint.

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“We would like him to adopt a humane approach towards the refugees, unlike his attitude to date,” he said.

The Wexford TD said he would like Mr Flanagan to send a team to Calais and Dunkirk to screen unaccompanied minors, with a view to bringing them to Ireland, where the Irish Red Cross has identified more than 800 suitable homes prepared to give them accommodation.

“Many unaccompanied minors are suffering a terrible fate, and some are dying. Our Government should recognise its obligation to help them,” he said.

Pledged

The Government has pledged to take in some 4,000 migrants as part of the European Union response to the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean but only about a dozen have arrived to date.

The committee is to consider Mr Wallace's complaint on Wednesday. It is understood he is seeking an apology from Mr Flanagan, who told The Irish Times he had apologised to Mr Wallace some weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin has made a complaint to the committee about Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan. The party has criticised Mr Durkan for his conduct when in the position of chair in the Dáil chamber.

The allegation is that he tried to silence health spokeswoman Louise O’Reilly when she raised concerns during a debate on climate change about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which is being negotiated between the EU and US.