The Dáil is debating the controversial Immigration Bill this evening, after it was amended when human rights groups objected to a section that they said would allow the State to discriminate against people with disabilities.
The Bill, which was drafted after a recent High Court ruling struck down ministerial orders controlling immigration as unconstitutional because they were not made under primary legislation.
Under the proposed law, immigration officers would have been allowed to refuse entry to those suffering from a mental illness. Opposition parties and representatives of disabled people said this would have allowed discrimination against, for example, people with Down Syndrome.
Opposition parties are expected to object to the section which is now expected to replace this, which will allow the refusal of entry to people with a "mental disorder" as defined by the Mental Health Act 2001.
Plans to rush the legislation through the Dáil last week to close the loophole in the law after the High Court decision were abandoned after opposition parties objected to the speed of the move by the Minister for Justice.
However, the amended Bill passed through the Seanad in just two hours on Friday evening, despite an opposition walk-out.
Senator Joe O'Toole claimed the Bill was "rooted in an Aryan philosophy that would be worthy of Nazism at its worst".
The president of the Human Rights Commission, Dr Maurice Manning, said last night
the commission regretted the Government and the Minister for Justice had chosen not to refer the Bill to the commission in advance of its publication.
"We have not had the time to make detailed observations on the Bill as we would wish to do and which we are statutorily empowered to do. It is our view that it is most undesirable that any legislative proposal with such significance for the promotion and protection of human rights should be processed so quickly and without the benefit of wider consultation."
The HRC said it was concerned at the possible consequences for giving broad powers to immigration officials without first putting in place effective safeguards and adequate training. It said one of the provisions of the Bill had "the potential to have a wide and possibly discriminatory impact on persons with physical, intellectual or sensory disabilities".
The Taoiseach told the Dail the legislation was "a very important matter" and he wanted to get the second stage of the Bill completed today and the final stages completed by tomorrow.
He said the consequences of the recent High Court judgment "to to the heart" of immigration control in the State.
Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny opposed the guillotining of the Bill, noting there were over 100 proposed amendments to it.
The Green Party and Sinn Fein also voiced strong objections to the Bill.