TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN has said that there are no “easy answers” to the immigration question, but said the public cannot take the law into their own hands. 

Speaking to reporters in Government Buildings yesterday, Martin accepted that there are “growing concerns” being articulated by some in society, but added: 

“There is no easy answers to this. I do accept the point that there is growing concerns outside of particular viewpoint. There is broader concerns, people are worried about capacity and so on. But we have to be very clear about the fundamental principles that must apply. No one can take the law into their own hands.

“Blockading is wrong. Physically destroying buildings is obviously a crime. We need as a society to maintain our cohesion and keep balance, and government has a role in terms of communicating those basic principles to the public and working with people, and engaging with people in respect to the broader question of migration.”

His comments come after a suspected arson attack took place on a hotel earmarked for asylum seekers in Co Galway this week. Yesterday, the Tánaiste acknowledged that the government needed to do a better job in easing any concerns the public have around immigration. 

Ireland’s immigration policies very much reflect the country’s international obligations as members of European Union, he said. 

“There’s no doubt. We have had a threefold increase from pre-Covid to post-Covid years in the number of those seeking international protection,” said the Tánaiste. 

International Protection Applicant numbers stand at around 15,000 per annum, he said,  compared to around 3,500 per year in 2019. 

The government White Paper on ending Direct Provision was on the 3,500 per year figure, he added. These figures are separate to 100,000 Ukrainians have settled in Ireland after fleeing war. 

“It is very much a function of the international and the global situation that we’re in. It is very, very challenging in such a short space of time, that so many people are having to flee situations as they have had to do in the last two years in particular,” he added. 

Speaking about how other countries have dealt with immigration issues, Martin said that many political promises and declarations have been made, but when analysed in the cold light of day, have not been successful.

“This will require constant work. In terms of broader immigration policy, we have tightened up checks in airports and so on in terms of people getting rid of documentation, destroying documentation,” he said. 

He added that there is “increasing evidence that more [asylum seekers] are coming through from the UK side” due to the new Rwandan policy being rolled out.

“By the way, this is happening all across Europe, it’s happening in the United States,” said Martin, noting the situation in New York which is seen as a sanctuary city for migrants. 

“So this is not a unique Irish experience. It is part of a broader European and global phenomenon,” said Martin, who predicted that it will be “very dominant issue” within the European Union next year.