EC immigration and asylum policymaking: integrating a role for the Oireachtas

Book description: Membership of the European Union has meant a gradual shift of decision-making powers from national level to European level in a broad range of policy fields. At European level, one of the dilemmas which has had to be confronted has been how best to incorporate an input by national parliaments into the European policy-making process. Within Member State systems, most thought has had to be given to how to avoid excessive dominance of the legislative branch of national government by the executive in policy fields regulated at European level as government ministers from twenty-five Member States meet regularly to agree to European-wide legislation on a range of issues which has expanded greatly over the years. This book examines the extent to which national legislatures, such as the Irish Oireachtas, have shown themselves able to react to-date to what is simultaneously an opportunity and a challenge to their position vis-à-vis the executive branch of government.