James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There has been considerable discussion about targets or putting caps and limits in place. I am not expressing a view but I am trying to get a better insight for the public in this area. Is the Department reaching a tipping point when it comes to what it will be able to handle? I hear, off the record, from people who are working with local authorities that they are at breaking point when it comes to trying to handle the refugee situation. Any of us who have any decency would accept that the most appalling, devastating and sad of circumstances have caused this to happen. However, we have to ask ourselves the question, when we are to approach numbers in excess of 70,000 by the end of the year, whether this direction of travel is wise when it comes to have cohesion, response and community buy-in from the public.