Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I join with the Minister in unreservedly condemning the deplorable and disgusting racist attacks that we have seen over the past weeks and months.

I welcome this debate, first as an opportunity to make that point but also because it provides an opportunity to address the reality that immigration needs to be managed, and to recognise that the Government has largely failed to do that. When it comes to migration, what we have seen from Government is an absolute failure on every front. Níl aon phleanáil déanta ag an Rialtas maidir leis an imirce ach tá Sinn Féin soiléir go gcaithfear í a bhainistiú. As with so many areas of public policy, successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have stumbled from one crisis to another, and likewise with immigration. There has been no planning and no recognition of the challenges. There has been a failure to listen to communities and far too little support for integration. The Government's handling of this issue has badly undermined public confidence, particularly in our international protection system and in the immigration system overall. It has allowed communities to be targeted by those who are seeking to sow division.

The context in which we discuss migration is the overall failures of this Government and successive Governments, particularly in areas like housing, economic inequality, tackling deprivation and addressing wage inadequacy. We cannot look at migration in isolation. The Minister talked about the long history of emigration from Ireland. That was largely due to the failures of successive Governments. How immigration is managed has to take into account our needs in terms of workers for key sectors such as health but also challenges including the housing crisis and the capacity of public services, as well as a humanitarian response to those who are fleeing war and persecution.

The international protection system has been in crisis mode for years. The time taken for decisions to be made is still far too long. Decisions, including deportations, are not being enforced and there has been massive profiteering from the provision of inappropriate IPAS accommodation. The Government has stripped many communities of having any real sense of agency or being part of the decisions that shape their own areas, particularly when it comes to the location of IPAS accommodation centres. Sinn Féin is very clear and unapologetic in saying that IPAS centres should only be placed in areas that have the resources to accommodate them. That means not in areas that are already struggling. There should be an end to the planning exemptions for IPAS and Ukrainian accommodation centres. That was a temporary emergency measure. Above all, there has to be transparency and accountability with regard to IPAS contracts. Profiteering has to be stamped out.

This year, an estimated €1.2 billion will be spent on IPAS accommodation. Hundreds of millions of euro more will be spent on accommodation for Ukrainians. A small number of private operators have made millions of euro because of the Government's dysfunctional approach. On top of that, there is no transparency, including around what qualifies some of these operators to provide these services. Figures revealed to me in a reply to a parliamentary question show that the average rate paid per bed per night rose by 68% between 2022 and 2024. The level of profiteering is scandalous. We saw, in 2024 for example, two directors of a company called Igo Café Limited. That was a café that turned into IPAS accommodation providers, one of the largest beneficiaries of State contracts. The two owners paid themselves €4.6 million.

Other notorious examples that illustrate why a full examination is needed include the case of where millions of euro in taxpayers money were paid for IPAS accommodation to a company that was owned by a man named by the Criminal Assets Bureau as being linked to gangland crime. Meanwhile, we know that the Department of justice continued to lease accommodation from a company called GoodPeople Homecare Limited, which was found to have supplied fake Garda vetting clearances to Tusla. Now it has emerged, in another response I received to a parliamentary question from the Department, that the Department continues to use this company for vulnerability assessments of applicants for international protection, and that this is due to remain in place until next year. How can the Minister stand over that? There is an urgent need at this stage for a review of all IPAS and related contracts that have been granted. This involves a lot of public money. The least the public deserves is maximum transparency and accountability.

The Minister referenced that earlier this year the Government supported the extension of the temporary protection directive to 2027. In our view, it is well past time that emergency measures were ended. There has to be certainty for everyone involved. The Government has also allowed the Ukrainian accommodation recognition payment to remain in place despite the fact that it is clear that there is an impact on the private rental sector and it is unfair because it is not means-tested like any other housing support. It has allowed landlords to receive large tax-free payments while freeing them from any of the usual obligations they have with any other tenancy. During the summer recess there was at last some recognition from the Government that, as I and Sinn Féin have long argued, the scheme is having an adverse impact on the private rental sector. If the Minister finally accepts this is the case, then surely he will also accept that the scheme has to be limited to those currently availing of it who actually satisfy a means test; that it is limited to those who are housing Ukrainians in their homes, very laudably, but not using houses that should be on the private rental market; and that the practice of top-up payments to hosts should also be banned.

The Minister referenced international students, and again, the approach to stamp 2 student visas is symptomatic of the Government's hands-off approach to the management of immigration. The fact is that to date, there has been no Government analysis of the impact of any form of economic migration on accommodation or services, and that includes student permits. Universities, which are starved of funding, have become increasingly over-reliant on overseas students because they are paying much higher student fees. Other private colleges, we know, have been created solely for the purposes of making profits from international students.

Some other businesses facing ever-increasing costs themselves have become dependent on low-paid, non-unionised workers, including those here on student visas who can work part time. Managing immigration means that careful consideration must be given to a balance of factors with respect to the numbers of work permits and student permits that are issued. It is grossly irresponsible to encourage increased numbers of international students, including English language students, to come here at a time the Government has created a crisis in student accommodation provision. What results from this is the exploitation of those students who come here, who then often find themselves jammed into overcrowded and inappropriate accommodation while working in low-paid, precarious jobs. We have to examine the number of international students coming to Ireland as part of the overall management of migration. We also have to address the situation where more student places are being put aside for international students simply because of the underfunding of universities. This is having consequences in a number of areas. The Irish Dental Association has called on the Government to limit the number of non-EEA students because it is having an impact in terms of the shortage of dentists across society.

Immigration must be managed and that should not be a controversial thing to say. States all over the world, including those with left-wing governments, unapologetically set the rules for entry into their countries and then enforce those rules. The truth is that in Ireland, economic migration has been guided only by the needs of corporations without consideration of other important social goals. It is absolutely logical and sensible - in fact, it is crucial - that issues related to low pay, downward pressure on jobs and the availability of housing is considered when deciding the number of employment and student residency permits issued each year.

The Government's handling of migration has been an inexcusable disaster. Through its failures, it has let down those who have come here and it has let down existing communities, many of whom have been left feeling voiceless. At the heart of Sinn Féin's approach to migration is our belief that the State has an obligation to manage immigration, not just to allow it to be set by market forces. We believe that at every level, the system has to be clear, fair and transparent with rules that are enforced. The gross profiteering and enrichment of individuals who have become millionaires due to Government incompetence must be stamped out. In the provision of IPAS and Ukrainian accommodation, communities must have a say in what is happening in their areas. There must be proper support for integration and to tackle racism. Policies that lead to resentment and unfairness must stop and that includes the accommodation recognition payment, which provides a non-means-tested housing support to one set of people that is not available to others equally in need of housing.

As this State grapples with the ongoing crisis in housing and with public services under pressure, the need for better planning across all aspects of housing policy, including ensuring that immigration is managed, has never been more urgent. Sinn Féin will continue to set out our proposals in this regard, guided by our anti-racist principles and determined to ensure migration to Ireland is managed in a way that enriches our country and those who come to our country. That is where we need to go.

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