Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are all acutely aware that we are experiencing an unprecedented situation in relation to the accommodation requirements of those seeking protection in Ireland. This has posed significant challenges for our State. We are all aware of that. We have seen some people in local communities ask questions, seek information and express concerns. Of course, it is absolutely essential that the Government, the Oireachtas and all of us continue to engage constructively with those people and offer support to communities through initiatives like the community engagement fund. Indeed, €50 million was given out in recent days to support communities welcoming new arrivals to their area.

We also need to be very honest. We must not in any way conflate what I have just said with another reality, which is that we live in a country where there are a small number of bad actors on the far right who are travelling from community to community, whipping up and preying on people's fears. They are not there to represent the needs of community; they are there with criminal intent on many occasions. They are there to divide, and they are certainly not looking out for the interests of local people in local communities. They want to exploit these concerns for their own ends. They use divisive rhetoric and misleading information, and they target those people who have come to Ireland to seek protection. We have seen some of these people engaging in what is simply abhorrent behaviour, seeking to hijack our flag, a flag that is a flag of welcome, peace and inclusion. They do not own our flag, and they cannot be allowed to use it to spread division across our communities.

I know that all Members of this House join me in condemning these attacks from the far right that we have seen in certain parts of our country. They have no place in society. I assure the House that I have met with the Garda Commissioner to discuss this matter on a regular basis. Indeed, I have been in contact with him on a number of occasions during the past week or so. The policing approach is predicated on keeping people safe, on preventing any antisocial or criminal behaviour, traffic management and other issues that one would expect to see where protest occurs. An Garda Síochána is very mindful of its response to the threat posed by the far right. I assure the House of that. We should not overstate the threat, but we cannot, and we should not, tolerate it in any way, shape or form. We all very aware of the playbook of those on far right. They prey on local concerns, exploit those concerns, gather up the crowds, intimidate those who stand against them and then move on to the next community and repeat what they have done. They spread mistruths about people and they usually attempt to divide communities. Those who drape the tricolour around themselves while blocking the entry and exit of people from their temporary homes and their place of shelter, do not speak for our country. They do not speak for the people's House - the Dáil. We all agree that people have a right to protest peacefully. It is an important democratic right, but nobody has the right to endanger, intimidate or break the law.

The unprecedented displacement of people right across Europe following Russia's brutal war on Ukraine has tested us all. We will continue to work in solidarity with our European neighbours and colleagues in the EU to implement the temporary protection directive. Like other European countries, we have not always found it easy, but we have done what is the morally right thing to do. We have welcomed people to this country. I must say that while we hear of the occasions where things do not go well, I think we can be extraordinarily proud that so many people in this country have opened their hearts and their homes to so many people from Ukraine and in helping with the national effort in relation to international protection as well. In fact, we have accommodated, together as a country, probably at least a population equivalent to that of Galway city. Despite the tremendous efforts of those involved, some people arriving are spending a period without State-provided accommodation. We are all working tirelessly to improve that situation. We all welcome the progress that has been seen in recent days. Given the gravity of the situation, I echo the point that there is truly a whole-of-government approach under way in meeting this challenge. As I have mentioned before, my own Department of Justice has proposed the Thornton Hall property as a potential accommodation site. Through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, over 1,150 student accommodation beds have been provided to the State's response over the summer period. These are just two examples of two other Departments trying to bring forward solutions to help with what is truly a major national effort.

In considering the current position, it is really important to acknowledge the important role that immigration has played in shaping our society and our culture. Irish migrants have contributed to, and helped shape, the countries to which they travel. Their influence all over the world is a source of great pride to us. In our in our DNA, we know what it is like to have to leave your homeland and go and seek refuge somewhere else. We have come full circle, in many ways. We now benefit as a country - and we hugely benefit - from people coming to Ireland and making Ireland their home. They are contributing to our economic growth, to our economy, society and communities, and they are contributing to our ability to provide public services in areas such as health, construction and education.

I want to make a point, and I make it for no reason other than to push back on the nonsense being spread by the far right. We have a rules-based immigration system in this country. They go around the country - and I have seen it - and put bizarre newspapers in doors, telling lies and mistruths. We have a rules-based system and we operate the rules. Ireland makes sure that people are eligible to seek international protection here. That is our legal obligation. We are also working to make sure that if you do have that right, you should get clarity on it much quicker than you have in the past. Equally, if you do not have a right to be here, you should also be told that quicker and have that clarity as well, so that you can fulfil your legal obligation to remove yourself from the country. That is how the system works. The far right suggests that this is not the case. Since late last year, we have had an accelerated procedure for international protection applicants from safe countries of origin.

This was in response to what we saw was a very significant increase in applications from designated safe countries in recent years. The introduction of this new procedure allows for a person to have his or her case dealt with quickly and efficiently. It means that people who come from a safe country of origin receives their interview date on the day they apply for international protection. They probably receive the interview within two weeks and the decision in less than three months. That is down from approximately 17 months just 12 months ago. This new process has allowed people to now get a "Yay" or Nay" with regard to international protection much quicker and provides clarity to them and their families in a much more advantageous position than previously.

Almost 5,000 first-instance decisions were made by the international protection office, IPO, in 2022, which is a higher number than any annual number of applications over the past five years. From memory, it is a higher number than was ever envisaged in the original report by Dr. Catherine Day before we saw a war in Ukraine. People have been working tirelessly in the IPO for which I thank them. This year, to end April, almost 2,500 first-instance decisions were made by the IPO, increasing even further the rate at which decisions being made. The mistruths being told need to be called out.

We are continuing to increase staff in the IPO offices. We have €18 million to recruit more staff to continue to improve the efficiency of the processes. As of end April, for example, there were 289 staff in the IPO. That is an increase of 93 since December and this will be increased further with a target of having 430 staff in place by early 2024. To absorb current and future growth, new office locations have now also been opened. I am confident that all the above measures, when completed, will ensure significantly improved decision-making times for all applications for international protection.

Where it is found that a person is not eligible for protection, which he or she has a right to seek, that person is advised of the requirement to remove himself or herself from the State. All the evidence available to me suggests that the majority of people do, in fact, leave the country once they get such a request. Those who do not do so will be subject to deportation.

We hear much information around people arriving without the appropriate documentation. I want to be clear that my Department has been engaging with airline carriers to help them reduce the number of passengers boarding flights without the correct documentation. Approximately 175 fines have been issued to airlines so far this year in that regard. Garda liaison officers have travelled to airports where issues have arisen in respect of document checking. These efforts are having an impact with the numbers of those arriving in Ireland without the necessary documentation reducing in recent months. There can always be some circumstances in which somebody fleeing a country does not have the right documentation. Afghanistan does not give out passports, for example. In general, however, we need to make sure people have the appropriate documentation and those checks are now in place.

The far right will say that people are not fingerprinted and that there are no deportations. The far right will say there are not proper processing times and people can just come in without documents and there are no fines when that happens. None of that is true. We do not say this to talk tough on migration. We say this to push back against what the alternative, which is a vacuum filled by deeply divisive and at times dangerous bad actors who seek to divide this country. As outlined, active efforts are under way to stoke fear and mistrust. It is a minority view in a country that overwhelmingly wants to be fair and rules-based but compassionate. That is the approach with which we will continue.

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