There would not be a “pull” factor if asylum seekers were given an automatic entitlement to work in the State, People Before Profit (PBP) has claimed.
The party has published a Bill which would allow asylum seekers to have a right to work while their asylum applications are being processed.
Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) spokesman Bulelani Mfaco said asylum seekers are not motivated by a right to work when choosing where to apply for international protection.
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin, Mr Mfaco, a South African man who was granted asylum last year having been in Ireland since 2015, said countries such as Sweden and Portugal have less restrictive employment rights than Ireland but are not getting relatively more migrants.
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There was “constant pushback”, he suggested, to giving asylum seekers an automatic entitlement to work as many believe it would lead to more people seeking international protection in the State.
He responded: “I don’t believe that there is anybody in Nigeria, Sudan, Jordan or Palestine that is going through different asylum systems at present who is selecting what country will give them the best reception. I don’t believe that is the case.”
He suggested there was “pure ignorance” out there as to how the asylum process worked and not many people knew that asylum seekers are not allowed to work when they first arrive in Ireland.
“Things like that fuel the kind of ignorance we see online and [that] is now spilling over into the streets. We need to have responsible leadership when it comes to how we talk about migration.”
Currently asylum seekers can apply for the right to work only after being in Ireland for five months and there is a 150-day wait.
PBP TD Paul Murphy said the Government was currently engaged in “performative cruelty” with asylum seekers and was pandering to far-right protesters.
The cruelty is intended to distract from Government failures in terms of housing, healthcare and cost of living and instead to focus attention on migrants, he claimed.
He said the fact that there are 2,000 asylum seekers in the State who are currently on the streets is an “absolute scandal”.
“There are enough empty beds in the system for every one of the currently homeless asylum seekers.”
He was also critical of Sinn Féin’s policy on asylum, stating that in three of its recently announced five-point plan it planned to be harder on asylum seekers than the current Government.
Mr Murphy suggested it would make “all the sense in the world” for asylum seekers to be allowed to work and contribute where there are labour shortages such as in the construction industry and in public transport where bus drivers are needed. Up to 10,000 asylum seekers could benefit from an automatic right to work based on current figures, he suggested.
“That would result in a real integration in workplaces. It would break down some of the suspicion and fear that exists because people would be working side-by-side with asylum seekers and seeing that these are people like you and me who want to work and contribute to society.”
The latest figures for international protection applicants show 429 arriving the week ending July 7th, 328 the week ending July 14th, 285 the week ending July 21st, 424 for the week ending August 4th and 388 for the week ending August 11th. No figures from the Department of Justice are available for the week ending July 28th.
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