Sir, – The recent demonstrations in Roscrea and other parts of the country highlight the ongoing issue regarding providing accommodation for those seeking asylum or international protection.
While both terms are much the same and seek the ultimate goal, which is refugee status, the lack of consultation between Government departments and local populations only increases the mistrust and anxiety created between those seeking safety and those who are genuinely concerned for the increased pressures put on medical, educational and other services in areas where most services are downgraded or are overloaded.
Ireland has no obligation to take in refugees as it has an opt-in or opt-out clause on individual proposals in the areas of security, justice and freedom through the EU Treaty of Lisbon. However, it has opted in to the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) for the relocation and resettlement through the Irish Refugee Protection programme.
The numbers in comparison to other smaller EU countries show the number of Ukrainian refugees has come to 102,000 since 2022 and 26,743 international protection applicants; of those international protection applicants, 11,469 were single males, while there were 3,376 single females.
Most of those seeking international protection came from such safe countries as Georgia, Albania, Nigeria, Algeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa.
Some, if not most, travelled through safe EU countries to get here, while some used forged or false documents to arrive here by boat or by plane.
The number of deportation ordered, while they increased from 528 in 2022 to 800 in 2023, the actual numbers deported or leaving voluntarily is in the average mid-200s. This abysmal return highlights the need for a fully resourced and mobile border force with powers to arrest, detain and remove.
While Ireland may benefit from €66.9 million in EU funding to manage this migration, the last charter flight for the removal of those who do not have permission to be in the State was in 2019.
The median time for those seeking asylum to be processed in Ireland is 18 months. A check on each individual seeking asylum is done by way of a check through what is known as the Second-Generation Schengen Information System. This is a centralised secure database used by EU countries and maintains an alert system for those wanted for serious crimes, etc. Each asylum seeker undergoes a detailed application process and is fingerprinted and photographed.
Those who commit serious crimes or are involved in destroying or destroying travel documents or not making a reasonable effort to prove one’s identity can be arrested without warrant.
However, checking the bona fides of people from countries which are war torn or in chaos can be difficult.
Ireland is at a crossroads when it comes to the thorny issue of migration but there is a limit to the welcome we can provide at great cost to the taxpayer.
Hard choices and decisions will have to be made, balancing the rights of local communities and overwhelmed services and our homeless, with those seeking safety. – Yours, etc,
CHRISTY GALLIGAN,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.
Sir, – I was heartened to see your photograph (January 17th) of local people delivering toys and necessities to the new residents of Racket Hall. I admire the women’s courage and good sense in recognising that the migrants need our help and that they must have been so relieved to receive a positive sign, surrounded as they are by protesters. I hope I would have the courage to do the same in similar circumstances. – Yours, etc,
ELLEN MacCAFFERTY,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – The earnest issues regarding immigration notwithstanding, one cannot but notice our Government, and indeed many TDs in general, of late using unpalatable terminology such as “scumbags”, “extremists”, “far-right”, “anti-democratic” and “anti-freedom” when describing a range of people and groups associated with this issue.
We know this is a complex issue and, in that light, it would be surely helpful if the Government, and the Dáil in general, could come to a consensus to cut out such populist and unpalatable rhetoric. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN NOLAN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.