Ireland has welcomed an agreement on a long-stalled revision of the EU's rules to share the hosting of asylum seekers more equitably, but has yet to decide if it will opt in.
Minister of State at the Department of Justice James Browne attended the meeting in Luxembourg where agreement was reached last night.
Speaking to RTÉ News before flying home, Mr Browne confirmed that "Ireland hasn't adopted it yet", saying there were a number of legal issues that needed to be considered.
"When there is a final adoption, which will be by the European Parliament (and the European Commission), then we will consider our situation about opting into this new set of regulations," he said.
However, he added that "we fully supported the process, we supported the decision yesterday", adding that Ireland "acted in good faith and fully participated in the negotiation process at every stage".
In a statement issued this evening, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee also welcomed the agreement.
She said: "We will continue to contribute to the negotiations over the coming months and will examine the issues carefully so that Government can make an informed decision on participation in the future."
Ireland's ability to opt in or remain out of proposals "in the area of freedom, security and justice" stems from Protocol 21, which is annexed to the Lisbon Treaty.
There are two key strands to the agreement reached yesterday.
One will see new asylum procedures on the EU's external borders.
The second will see member states agree to either relocate asylum seekers from those border countries or pay money or offer some kind of help.
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Mr Browne said that there was a "mandatory and voluntary element" to this latter proposal.
He said if Ireland opts in it would be "mandatory that we show solidarity, whether we do it by relocation or financial supports or capacity building or any other measure that you think will work by way of solidarity".
Mr Browne said that this had been a work in progress since the height of the migration crisis in 2015/2016.
However, he said that he believed "we're going to face a continued migration crisis in Europe amid ongoing conflicts and climate change.
"I don't think this situation is going to go away, but the fact that we actually got agreement at the Council of Ministers is very significant for Europe."
