Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is important we facilitate open debate. Members of this House and the public are entitled to raise concerns, undertake legitimate protest and hold this Government to account in every way they possibly can. That said, the Government has international obligations which we will fulfil. The response of the Irish people to the humanitarian crisis of the terrible war in Ukraine and those coming here seeking international protection has been second to none. We would expect nothing less from the Irish people. That is not to say it has been easy. It has not been easy and it will continue to present real challenges for the public service, the Government and communities throughout the country that we ask to take in groups of people whom they do not know. Inevitably that will be exploited by people who hold certain views. There is no question about that.

It is important to put it all in context. The number of people who have come to Ireland in recent months is beyond parallel. We have provided a safe haven to more than 67,000 people fleeing a brutal war, and that is the context for all of those people. I will come to the international protection process in a moment but these people are fleeing war. They are in fear of losing their lives and worried about their family members and communities. We have an obligation to protect them. We may not be able to provide accommodation and support of a standard we would like to in ideal circumstances, but we will make sure their basic needs are met. I commend the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, his officials and those in the international protection accommodation service, IPAS, on providing services and accommodation to people coming here from Ukraine. They have provided accommodation for almost 50,000 people who have arrived from Ukraine. In addition to that, from the beginning of this year to date, almost 14,000 people have arrived in Ireland seeking international protection. The average number of people seeking protection from 2017 to 2019 was about 3,500, so by the end of the year it will be clear that the number of people who have come here this year has increased fourfold relative to what might be called a normal year.

However, I am not sure we will see normal years again. That is the reality. The Deputy spoke about the geopolitical developments all over the world and they will not end any time soon. Be they war, famine or the impact of climate change, we have to develop a system and a capacity to respond to people who come here. We have a process and people who come here claiming international protection will go through that process. It is important that every case is dealt with on its individual merits and in line with our international obligations, and that is what we will do. Between people who have fled the war in Ukraine and people who have come to this country seeking international protection, the State is providing accommodation for almost 68,000 people, and this has presented challenges. The Government will work collectively to address those challenges in the best way we can. We had a good Cabinet committee meeting earlier this week where we heard, for example, of the plans to roll out a new community support fund to assist and invest in communities that have opened up their arms and, in many cases, opened up their hearts and homes to people coming to Ireland for safety, security and a better future.

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