Decent Irish people have concerns about migration. If we don’t listen, populists will |
Recent newspaper reports suggest that the Government has decided to tighten up the Irish approach to applications for refugee status and international protection. The whole question of the relationship between asylum and international protection on the one hand, and inward migration on the other, is fraught with political and legal difficulty. Because Ireland has, unwisely in retrospect, acceded in full to provisions in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights relating to asylum, EU institutions have competence to determine the operation of asylum laws in member states, meaning we are not masters in our own house.
Nonetheless there is a need for honesty in our democratic dialogue on these issues. For instance, Ireland, while militarily neutral, has sought to support Ukraine by offering refuge to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. The number of Ukrainians seeking temporary protection in Ireland in the last three years has reached more than 112,000 and perhaps 80,000 still reside here. In the case of Ukrainians, Ireland’s generous welcome has been pared back in terms of welfare and accommodation entitlements. But there is as yet little or no debate as to whether Ireland will or should confer citizenship and the corresponding right of permanent residence to those Ukrainians who remain here.
There is a wider question that also remains largely unaddressed. Do asylum and international........