The Government will discuss how more “robust border controls” can be in place to ensure asylum seekers who are not entitled to seek refuge in Ireland cannot stay here, the Taoiseach has said.
It comes as Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin condemned protests outside a number of places providing accommodation for asylum seekers in Dublin.
Cabinet met for an “away day” in Farmleigh House on Wednesday where it discussed its priorities for the first six months of 2023.
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At a press conference after the meeting, the Taoiseach was asked if he was worried that protests outside premises risked social cohesion among the public for asylum seekers.
Mr Varadkar said that it is important that decisions for people who can and cannot seek international protection in Ireland can be made quickly. This includes people whose applications will be rejected.
He said: “Some of the things that we'll examine over the next couple of weeks is how we can make sure that we have more appropriate and more robust border controls to make sure that people aren't able to enter the country illegally.
“The vast majority of people who come here from overseas do so legally. That's absolutely right. “But those who don't, obviously, we have to protect against that.”
Mr Varadkar later said that there are “mechanisms to get into the country legally if people want to come here from there for economic reasons”.
He added: “It's important that they follow and it's not fair on other people that anyone should try to get around those rules.”
The only checks, the Taoiseach later said, would be at ports and airports.
The Tánaiste also condemned recent protests outside centres for international protection seekers.
Mr Martin said that while people have the right to protest, “protests outside where people are living is crossing the line”.
He added: “That's not in conformity with the Irish way of doing things and our basic set of values and decency”.
Cabinet discussed its priorities for the year at the meeting, with the cost of living widely discussed.
The Taoiseach said that while it appears that inflation may have peaked, “there is a difference between inflation falling and prices going down”.
“I think it's going to continue to be a difficulty for families over the next few months, for businesses as well,” he said.
“We'll sit down and sit down over the next few weeks among the key ministers involved and work out what we can do to continue to help families and businesses with the cost of living in the spring.”
The Tánaiste added that the timing of cost of living payments in 2022 had been “optimal” and that money must last for the full calendar year.
Mr Varadkar also restated that there would be “no cliff edges”, indicating that supports will not be cut off in February.
He also stated that it is expected that “thousands more” Ukrainian refugees will arrive into Ireland this spring.
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