JOHN Lannon, CEO of Limerick-based migrant and refugee rights organisation Doras, has raised serious concerns about the proposed International Protection Bill 2026, after a preliminary review of the Bill was published by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
Mr Lannon deemed it “very troubling” that the Minister is not only introducing the concept of detention at Irish borders – currently non-existent in the international protection system – but extending this to children.
“Under no circumstances should children be detained; it violates their most basic human rights. Detention is never in the best interest of a child.
This legislation will be a stain on Ireland’s international reputation, and it undermines the very core of what being Irish means. People seeking asylum should not be criminalised,” Mr Lannon said.
