Ms Áine Ní Chonaill:

On behalf of the Immigration Control Platform, I thank the Chairman and members for the opportunity to make a presentation this afternoon. Let me introduce myself. I am Áine Ní Chonaill, PRO of Immigration Control Platform and I am accompanied by my colleague from the executive committee, Mr. Ted Neville.

Immigration Control Platform was founded in January 1998 as a non-governmental organisation seeking strict immigration control and not an excessive level of immigration.

Let me begin by reminding the committee that the two most fundamental duties of a state are the maintenance of law and order and the defence of the borders of the state. In today’s Europe, that defence of the borders of the state is no longer against military attack, but against illegal immigration.

Illegal immigration is the modern form of invasion. This is readily seen when one sees images of boats heading like an armada across the Mediterranean, but it is no less invasion when it is the more clandestine type of illegal immigration experienced in Ireland. There are many different types. It may be so-called "students" whose intention was to abuse the system to gain access to the labour market. It may be people issued with deportation orders who went on the run and many other categories. In all cases, these are people who are effectively giving two fingers to the State and its citizens, saying: "No, you won't decide who comes to live here and what limits there will be. We will decide, not you."

The State is not an abstraction; it is us collectively. The defiance of the State which is illegal immigration is an offence committed against the citizens of Ireland. To quote a former Secretary General of the Department of Justice: “It is the absolute right and bounden duty of every sovereign state to control its borders, in the interests of its citizens.” We would particularly emphasise the phrase "bounden duty". We hear of the right of states to control their borders but we never hear of the duty of the state to do so, and in the interests of its citizens. Dealing with illegal immigration is part of that defence of the borders and it is not done by saying: "It's ok. You can stay."

Ireland now has one of the higher levels of immigrants per head of population in the shown by recent EUROSTAT figures, but the authorities, and particularly politicians, have not woken up to that fact. The level of deportations of illegal immigrants is risible - mere tokenism. In 2014, we deported 111, we do not have a breakdown of the figure into failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. There were 237 voluntary returns; making a grand total of 348.

In contrast, the following figures come from the Migration Observatory at Oxford:

In 2013, 50,741 people were removed from the UK or departed voluntarily after the initiation of removal. This figure excludes individuals refused entry at port and subsequently removed, in order to focus more clearly on what most people understand by deportation.

The UK's population is about 14 times that of Ireland. A proportionate level of deportation from Ireland would give a deportation figure of 3,624, more than ten times the actual figure.

With the permission of the Chairman, may I ask my colleague to deal with the fiscal elements?