LAST UPDATE | 9 Feb 2023
Tadgh McNally reports from Brussels
TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said that there are currently no plans to cut off supports for Ukrainian refugees in Ireland.
Speaking this evening at a meeting of the European Council, Varadkar said that there while there are not plans to end supports, the Government wanted to continue to encourage Ukrainians to enter the Irish workforce.
“We don’t at the moment have any plans to cut support for Ukrainians and you know, I’m not sure how that would work at the moment,” Varadkar said.
“We do want to obviously encourage Ukrainians who can’t enter the workforce to become self sufficient, to take up employment, to provide for their own accommodation and their own needs but that’s not going to be possible in all cases.”
He said that a lot of the Ukrainian refugees currently living in Ireland “barely speak English”, with many of them being single mothers with multiple children.
“I can’t imagine a situation where we would just cut them off,” he added.
It comes after Varadkar said that Ireland needed to take a “fair, firm and hard” approach to migration, with rising levels of migration being seen across Europe.
He told reporters that while refugees were welcome in Ireland, decisions needed to be made quickly on asylum applications to ensure people who are not entitled to protections are returned to their country of origin.
“I think when it comes to migration we need to be fair, firm and hard,” the Taoiseach said.
“We need to be fair with refugees because refugees are welcome in Ireland and people that need our protection should get it.
“We also need to be firm with people who come to Ireland with a false story or false pretense. We need to be firm with them and say that we are going to make a quick decision on your application and that we will we return you to your country of origin, people expect that.”
However, this evening Varadkar said that he didn’t want his comments to be perceived as a change in Government policy on migration.
He added that the Government did need to be “firm” against asylum seekers who enter Ireland “with a story that doesn’t stack up”.
“We need to be very clear to them, that their applications will be refused and that they will be sent home to their country of origin.”
In particular, Varadkar said that the Government needed to take a “hard” approach towards human traffickers who are bringing people into Ireland.
“We also need to be hard on human traffickers because we should decide who enters our country, not criminal gangs,” Varadkar said.
When asked about ongoing issues surrounding communications to communities who are due to accommodate refugees, Varadkar admitted that the Government needed to do better.
“I do think we need to improve our communications and that the information that we give communities about what’s happening in their town or area.
“People don’t have a right to say who lives in their area but they do have a right to know what’s happening in their area and I think it’s reasonable that communities should get information about what’s happening.”
It follows Varadkar’s comments yesterday in the Dáil where he condemned “racism of any form”, telling TDs that there was no place for it in Ireland.
When he was questioned about the Government’s failure on the housing crisis and that this had driven people towards anti-migrant sentiments, Varadkar objected and said that groups would instead blame other issues on asylum seekers and refugees.
“Racists and the far-right will blame whatever problem the country is facing on migrants, that’s the way it works, that’s the way they think,” Varadkar said.
“So if we have a housing crisis, it’ll be the foreigners are taking our homes. If we have an unemployment crisis, it’ll be the the foreigners are taking our jobs. If we’ve got high levels of crime, they’ll blame the foreigners for the high levels of crime.
“If there’s violence against women – one of the oldest tropes in the book – they will blame that on migrants and people who come here from overseas, particularly those who are brown or black.”
Varadkar said that regardless of what issue a country is facing, the far-right will attempt to pin the blame on migrants.
Justice Minister Simon Harris said over the weekend that the decision-making process for people seeking asylum will be accelerated, including the deportation of people who are not granted leave to stay.
Speaking on RTE’s Six One News on Saturday, Harris said over 6oo deportation orders had been issued since September 2022 and 128 had been issued since the start of the year.
“We’re working to make sure applications are accelerated more quickly,” Harris said.
“So, if you come to our country and you have a right for protection, you’ll get that certainty quicker – but if you come to our country illegally and you don’t you’ll get asked to leave quicker.”
He said Ireland was a fair and compassionate country and that the coalition wanted to make sure that anyone fleeing persecution could seek refuge. He added that the State operates within a rules-based system and stressed that the rules would be applied fairly and efficiently.
Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman has issued an urgent plea to his ministerial colleagues to find large buildings and facilities, such as sports centres and student leisure centres, to house refugees.
Asked today about whether schools would be used to accommodate refugees in the summer, Education Minister Norma Foley said it was up to the individual schools to decide on the matter.
“That is at their discretion. It is a matter for the board of management, not the department,” Foley said. “They do have autonomy to decide where they might have facilities available, or where they might not.
“You will be aware that in some instances it was, on a short-term basis, made available, but it is wholly at the discretion of the school board of management to make those decisions in terms of where they might have availability or where they might not.”
Additional reporting by Emer Moreau and Jane Moore
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