Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

As the Minister of State with responsibility for migration, I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak this afternoon on what I believe is one of the most important issues facing our country, which is migration. As a Government we need to address this. We need address it with the spirit of integrity and of compassion, and with a rules-based approach, as the Minister said.

One of the things that we here in Ireland have learned really clearly is that whether it is emigration or immigration, migration shapes a nation. It has a huge impact on it. I am sure that all of us here recognise, and certainly the Minister and I do, the incredible contribution that migrants make to our country. Every day they are contributing right across our economy and our neighbourhoods. We also understand that migration encompasses a range of legal, social, economic and humanitarian challenges. In dealing with that we have to have a firm, fair and effective system. This is imperative to maintaining public confidence in our immigration system. This, however, must also stay true to the values that we hold of openness, human rights and international solidarity.

In the face of these pressures, I acknowledge the great work being done across government and especially within the Department the Minister and I are leading. We have introduced new work permit schemes and we have streamlined residency paths to ensure we can attract the best talent. This also continues to ensure our country's economic growth. We have expanded into the international protection system to increase the speed with which asylum and decision-making takes place. We have invested in services for newly arrived migrants and refugees to support integration.

One area I want to acknowledge in particular is accommodation. Providing accommodation for people applying for international protection is an obligation for us under Irish and EU law. As the Minister said, Ireland saw unprecedented surges around 2022 in the number of international applicants. This does not happen just here in Ireland: it happened across all EU member states and internationally directly after the pandemic. The Russian invasion of Ukraine saw a massive humanitarian response right across Europe. This resulted in 110,000 people coming to Ireland fleeing that conflict. Ireland responded, as one would expect, in a comprehensive manner and it supported tens of thousands of people, either directly or indirectly, with accommodation and other supports.

These parallel events placed pressure on accommodation capacity over the past three years and we acknowledge that this has been felt right across the country. Among those wider changes in migration patterns into Ireland were those events of the invasion and the inward migration after the pandemic. These contributed to a change in public discourse and attitudes. They have had a real impact, which we have seen right across our local communities and throughout Ireland. Specifically on accommodation, 90% of our current accommodation needs in this regard are commercially provided through contracted service providers in the range of settings we are all familiar with such as hotels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation and former commercial properties. Most of that capacity was added to the system post-2022. The demand for accommodation for Ukrainians has actually reduced significantly over the past year to the extent that many former accommodation contracts have ended, including almost the entirety of the student accommodation centres that were originally involved. This is freeing up much-needed accommodation this September for college students. There are still 23,000 people from Ukraine in State-supported accommodation and many more are receiving payment under the accommodation recognition payment, ARC system. While the demand for IPAS accommodation remains high the rate of increase in new applications for international protection has reduced since October 24, as the Minister outlined. The State is currently accommodating 33,000 people in over 320 IPAS centres around the country, 9,000 of whom are children and families.

The Government's current focus for international protection is to develop more State-owned accommodation in a range of sources. We are committed to building sustainable systems to reduce our reliance on commercial providers. In an important step in implementing this strategy the State recently purchased the Citywest hotel and conference centre for €148 million. That purchase, over 25 years and with an operating cost model, will offer savings of over €1 billion while delivering a permanent State asset. Now we have approximately 4,000 beds being directly provided on State-owned lands. This is an increase from a figure of just 700 in 2024. We have further potential purchases we are considering, and alongside that we have the possibility of identifying State-owned sites for viability for modular and prefabricated accommodation.

The Minister mentioned the facts around IPAS centres and it is important to have that exact figure: while 3% to 4% of non-Irish citizens who are living here in this State are in IPAS centres, the vast majority are here working and contributing. They have come to make their lives here. They have come here because we have asked them to come to provide essential public services in our hospitals, tech companies, construction industry and so many other areas. They are contributing on a daily basis. We must constantly be aware of and recognise that.

With regard to IPAS centres, I will be looking at developing a contribution model for the cost of accommodation. After five months people can apply to work, and if they are still in an IPAS centre after six months they can work. If people are earning and paying income tax they can make a contribution to the cost of their accommodation. I will bring forward proposals in this area to the Government.

Before I finish I want to speak on one issue, which is the troubling rise in far-right agitation and racism we have seen in recent times. There are people who seek to instill fear and division and to exploit what are the legitimate concerns of communities. They do that for very dangerous reasons. This is something that all of us here must firmly reject. We must support the proper use of our national flag. One must respect the flag. Our flag is a flag of inclusivity not division. We should recognise this and always make that point.

I believe fundamentally that our response to migration should always be rooted in truth, in empathy and in the significant area of unity. We need to encourage local communities to play a central role through education, leadership and shared experiences. When people meet and talk, when people have an opportunity to work together and to be educated together then there are no grounds for conflict. I urge Members in the House to take a moment to reflect on whether we are doing enough here to foster that respectful dialogue in this space. I encourage everyone, as part of that conversation here today, to be inclusive, to be respectful and to help shape an Ireland that we can all be truly proud of and that reflects the best traditions of our hospitality, our fairness and our hope.

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