Ireland seeks to cut asylum arrivals over fears of social strain

LONDON

The Irish government is seeking to reduce the number of people arriving in the country to seek asylum amid fears of “a breakdown in social cohesion,” the country's Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said.

Speaking on the Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, O’Callaghan said the number of asylum seekers arriving in Ireland last year – 18,500 people – was “exceptionally high” and needed to fall.

“But I have to be frank about it as well. Like, it’s a fine aspiration to say ... we can welcome into Ireland everyone who wants to claim asylum. I can’t. That’s not realistic,” he said.

“And I have to be careful that the numbers, which were exceptionally high last year − 18,500 people arrived last year − that those numbers are reduced, as otherwise, we will have a breakdown in social cohesion. We will have tents on the streets. I know there are some, but we’ll have too many tents in the streets, and it’ll look like a system that the government is not in control of,” he noted.

O’Callaghan declined to specify what level of asylum applications would be sustainable, saying: “I’m not setting any numbers as a goal to get asylum figures down to.”

He said the asylum system should operate “for the benefit of people who are fleeing persecution and war,” adding: “Those who want to come here to work have another method of applying, which is through the work permit application.”

The minister also indicated that the government may move to reduce the number of foreign students coming to Ireland to study English. He said 60,000 students were given permission to come to Ireland last year.

“It’s very legitimate that people are coming here to learn English,” he said, but added that the system was also being used “as a mechanism to come in to work.”

O’Callaghan said Ireland’s population growth rate of 1.6% a year was too high and was placing “huge pressures” on public services.