Tánaiste Micheál Martin has warned “the handling of migration in Britain led to Brexit” and the Republic has to take a different approach to have a firm and fair system.
He said the State must also be “consistent with what’s going on across Europe”.
Mr Martin insisted that it had to be a “substantial policy-based way rather than just trying to satisfy the immediate, electoral or political perspective”.
He gave the warning as he distanced himself from remarks on migration by two Fianna Fáil general election candidates.
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In a social media post Cllr Longford-Westmeath candidate Dympna Cunniffe backed protests against a proposed temporary facility for asylum seekers in Athlone.
She wrote: “Would you want children walking to school adjacent to the coming and goings of 1,000 asylum seekers awaiting background checks from countries dubbed high risk as per Government documents?”
Separately, in an interview in the Sligo Champion Cllr and Sligo-Leitrim candidate Edel McSharry described the Government’s handling of immigration as “reckless and irresponsible”.
Mr Martin said he did not agree with the comments or approve of them.
The protests in Athlone were “a manifestation of broader pressures on communities in respect of the migration issue”, he said. The numbers seeking asylum are unprecedented “and we need a faster and fairer system”.
He added that the Government has behaved responsibly and “has done everything we possibly can. You’re still going to end up in difficulties.”
Some people campaign for the utilisation of private facilities. “But once Government begins, as it is now, moving on State accommodation, communities are equally concerned, particularly in terms of numbers and so forth. So this will remain a challenging issue for any new government and it will remain a challenging issue for all political parties.”
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Fianna Fáil is proposing a government department of domestic affairs with a border management agency within it to deal with migration policy.
“We believe the decision to separate out responsibilities around migration between justice and children has not worked and we believe that this new approach will be more effective in time.”
Pressed as to whether he would condemn his party candidates’ comments, Mr Martin replied: “I’ve made my point. I don’t approve of those comments”.
Asked if he supported EU proposals on the introduction of hubs for asylum seekers he said he was open to examining in detail “options that come forward. I’m not going to pronounce definitively until I see the full details of what people are actually proposing”.
But he said he was conscious “that the alternative at the moment is hubs within Libya. I wouldn’t call them hubs, warehouses — where people traffickers are abusing people who have sought a better life. Their families are being subject to extortionist demands from the people traffickers and their conditions are shocking.”
Expressing his belief that the handling of migration led to Brexit he said he was making the point as a “warning to politics and society in general, let’s not walk into something because politicians are asking” about it.
“I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. But in Britain, what happened was people develop false ideas.”
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