Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that he has no “particular figure” in mind for what would be a “sustainable” number of asylum seekers Ireland could take in.
Last night during a press briefing at the Irish Farmers’ Association Annual General Meeting, the Taoiseach was asked what a “sustainable figure” was regarding the number of Ukrainians Ireland could take in.
“It’s currently around 500 a week,” said one journalist. “Do you want to see 100, 150…?”
“I suppose we don’t have a particular figure or target, as such,” the Taoiseach replied.
“Roughly 100,000 Ukrainians have come to Ireland. About 20,000 of those left, but 80,000 are still here. And we’ve been able to provide them with accommodation, education, health care, in many cases employment too.”
The Taoiseach went on to express his view that in years to come, people would be “proud” of what Ireland had achieved regarding asylum seeker intake.
“I think in 10 or 20 years time, we’ll look back on this and be very proud of what we’ve done as a country in welcoming so many people who’ve been fleeing war in Ukraine.”
The Fine Gael leader said that he expected the numbers of people coming to Ireland from Ukraine to fall as Ireland reduces its welfare offerings for Ukrainian asylum seekers to be more in line with similar European states. However, he stressed that the migration patterns remained unpredictable.
“We have brought what we offer more into line with what’s done in other Western European countries, for reasons we’ve explained in the past,” he said.
“And for that reason we would expect to see a certain reduction in the number of people coming to Ireland from Ukraine. But it’s impossible to predict how many that will be. And of course a lot will depend not on what happens here, but also what happens in Ukraine.
“…Let’s not forget why people are here. They’re fleeing a really brutal war in Ukraine. When we survey them and ask them why they come to Ireland, they list two main reasons: English-speaking, and it’s very far away from Russia. Neither of those things are going to change.”
The Taoiseach added that he hoped that Ukraine would win the war soon, so that the government could begin talking to Ukrainians about the “possibility of going home.”
“What I hope will change is the course of the war in Ukraine so that Ukraine can be successful in the war and the war will come to an end,” he said.
“And then we can start to talk to people here from Ukraine about the possibility of going home. But we’re not at that point at this stage.”
He also said one of the government’s “big fears” was that Russian President Vladimir Putin would use the cold winter weather in the region to “target civilian infrastructure” such as power stations.
“He is using migration as a weapon in this war, as well as energy, as well as food,” the Taoiseach said.
Asked about reports that fourteen people, believed to be migrants, had been found in a refrigerated truck arriving from France at Rosslare Europort in Wexford, the Taoiseach said he had only heard “some initial reports” and was “limited” in what he could say about the matter. However, he said that the government would try to facilitate “voluntary return home, if they’re willing to go home.”
“My understanding is that 14 people have been found in a container in a truck in Rosslare Europort,” he said.
“Our first response, as always, is a humanitarian one – to check that they are alive and in good health. And my understanding is that they are.
“Our next step now is to facilitate voluntary return home, if they’re willing to go home. And if they choose to apply for asylum, they are legally entitled to do that, and we’ll try and process the application as quickly as is possible.”