Minister O’Callaghan attends EU Justice and Home Affairs meeting in Copenhagen
- Foilsithe:
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 22 Iúil 2025
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan today attended a meeting of EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Copenhagen. Migration, organised crime and crisis preparedness were key focus areas for discussion.
On migration, the Ministers discussed effective mechanisms to return those with no lawful permission to remain in the EU, as well as proposed new and innovative solutions to manage irregular migration.
Speaking on these topics, Minister O’Callaghan said:
"The number of people who have been removed from Ireland has increased by 194% in the first 6 months of this year, but we are still missing an effective EU-wide returns system. This includes agreeing a strong legislative measure but also taking a European wide approach to improving cooperation with third countries to ensure they accept their own nationals back and provide travel documents where required. Discussions considered how we can jointly encourage greater levels of voluntary returns for those with no permission to stay in the EU.
"Tackling irregular migration, including by removing the incentives for undertaking perilous journeys, ensuring that the EU’s asylum systems are not abused, and securing effective returns, is something that can only be effectively done at a European level. That is why Ireland opted into the Migration Pact and why we intend to participate in the new returns measure."
The meeting also saw a particular focus on organised crime and drug trafficking. Minister O’Callaghan said:
"Ireland is acutely aware of the devastating impact of drug abuse on public health and community safety. The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau has achieved considerable success in disrupting the work of criminals in this area, seizing €627 million in illicit drugs since it was established in 2015, as well as bringing many of those who have caused such misery in our communities to justice. We remain strongly committed to tackling drug trafficking, and our close cooperation with EU member states and others is essential in doing so."
Speaking about how the EU can enhance civilian preparedness, resilience and crises prevention, Minister O’Callaghan voiced Ireland’s supports for the all-hazards, whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach to preparedness and resilience set out in the European Preparedness Union Strategy.
Minister O’Callaghan said:
"We saw during the recent storms in Ireland the real challenges faced by people when communications, electricity and water supplies are interrupted for extended periods. We need to continue to invest in the resilience of both our infrastructure and our people as the threats to our society continue to increase in areas such as cyber security and climate change."
The Minister also attended a meeting of the European Ports Alliance Public-Private Partnership, of which Ireland is a member. The Alliance was launched in January 2024 as a core part of the EU Roadmap to fight drug trafficking and organised crime. It aims to increase the security and the resilience of ports against drug trafficking and organised crime, through the exchange and promotion of best practices.
Speaking about the importance of this Alliance, Minister O’Callaghan said:
"Collaborations such as the European Ports Alliance are increasingly vital, providing a platform for exchange of best practices. These efforts help to ensure our ports remain resilient to the growing and evolving challenges of the illicit drugs trade. Dublin Port Company is centrally involved in this partnership, and we look forward to the publication of a European Ports Strategy later this year to inform how we can enhance security at all Irish ports."