Ireland has told the European Commission that it may be able to accept international protection applicants in the future following a decision to make a final contribution in lieu of housing 350 people.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman brought a joint memo to Cabinet earlier requesting that Ireland make a contribution to meet the State's commitments under the European Union’s Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism. This would be done instead of accommodating the asylum seekers 350 asylum seekers at a cost of €1.5m.
Ireland had agreed to take the asylum seekers last summer as part of an EU bid to relocate large numbers of arrivals from Mediterranean countries.
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Cabinet heard that during 2022, 70,500 people from Ukraine sought Temporary Protection in Ireland, in addition to 13,651 asylum seekers.
This led to the State providing accommodation for over 80,000 people in a system that anticipated 3,000 to 5,000 arrivals per year.
A Government spokesman confirmed last night that the Government has advised the Commission that Ireland may be in a position to recommence relocation of asylum seekers under the mechanism when sufficient capacity is available.
The spokesman also advised that Ireland may accept a small number of people under the Voluntary Support Mechanism.
It was also stressed that Ireland will continue to take International Protection Applicants as normal and the only ones that will not be accepted are the 350 who were to be assigned under the Voluntary Support Mechanism.
When asked if consideration was given to the fact that some cohorts could use the fact Ireland was not taking the asylum seekers to further the “Ireland is full” argument, two Government spokespeople said that was “an entirely separate issue”.
On his way into Cabinet yesterday [thurs], Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that it is not possible for Ireland to no longer accept international protection seekers.
The Taoiseach said: “I know there are some people that would like us to put a limit on the number of people seeking international protection in Ireland. That's not realistic, it's not legal, it's not practical.
“But we can manage the flows better and that's one thing that we're trying to do.”
Mr Varadkar said that Ireland is now one of the countries in Europe whose international protection system is coming under pressure,
He stressed that while Ireland cannot accept the 350 people, it is allowed to make a financial payment instead.
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