The Minister for Justice came under sustained Opposition attack for his performance on immigration and other issues.
A motion of no confidence in him, moved by Labour and supported by the other Opposition parties, which will be voted on tonight, was vigorously rejected by Mr O'Donoghue, who defended his record.
Challenging the Opposition to say what it was for rather than just against, he said: "You know, and the Irish people know, where I stand." He added that since taking office, a total of 24 Bills, relating to areas where he had responsibility, had entered the statute books, representing almost one-quarter of all Bills enacted since the Government took office.
On immigration, the Minister said there was a view that Ireland should set standards which were different from and superior to the international norms.
"Attractive as this general proposition may appear to be, the problem is that it fails to take account of essential realities. One reality - hard, though nevertheless a reality - is that if we were to apply an immigration policy which is significantly more flexible and liberal in its features than those applying in the rest of the European Community, there is very little doubt that, over a period - and probably a relatively short period - we would be left to deal with an immigration inflow which we simply could not cope with.
"It serves nobody's interests - apart perhaps from those of criminal organisations - to allow a situation to develop where there are no effective immigration controls in place which are broadly in line with those of our European partners. It is an extremely important and extremely complex issue. It needs to be addressed in a well-informed, comprehensive and humanitarian way."
Mr O'Donoghue said there was no difficulty in principle about the idea that the State should admit non-nationals to take up work opportunities or to study in Ireland, provided that they did so through lawful channels.
The Labour spokesman on justice, Mr Brendan Howlin, claimed Mr O'Donoghue's whole record had been a chapter of disasters. The scheme to allow asylum-seekers to work, after they had spent a year in Ireland, was so limited and restrictive as to be practically useless.
An asylum-seeker who wanted to work must first find a potential employer, who must then apply for a work permit to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The process could then take a month or more, and there was a fee payable. Employers had to show they had made reasonable efforts to have the job filled by an Irish national or a citizen of the EU.
"Is it any wonder, given this bureaucratic nightmare, that so few permits have been sought and issued? Blame for this ludicrous situation must be shared between Mr O'Donoghue and the Tanaiste, who has direct ministerial responsibility."
Overcrowding in prisons was worse than ever, said Mr Howlin, adding that morale and industrial relations problems continued within the Garda.
The Fine Gael spokesman on justice, Mr Jim Higgins, said a binding principle operated by Mr O'Donoghue in opposition was that the buck stopped with the minister of the day.
"It is this Minister, therefore, who must shoulder the responsibility for a prison system which is in chaos, a courts system which undermines public confidence in itself by glaringly inconsistent sentencing policies, a Garda force where there are constant and major industrial relations problems, a disgruntlement fuelled by the Minister himself because of the manner in which he heightened gardai's expectations during his 2 1/2-year rant in opposition."
Perhaps, said Mr Higgins, the Minister saw the "lock-'em-up" policy as the hard man, macho Minister image. "Is this the reason that he is determined to carry on regardless and add 1,000 more prison spaces at a cost of £100 million and 1,000 more prison officers at an annual cost of £25 million?"
Mr John Gormley (Green Party, Dublin South East) accused the Minister of being interested only in photo opportunities and soundbites, adding that some asylum-seekers were being treated like animals.
