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Aontú has reiterated its aim to establish a new border agency “staffed by thousands of people” to oversee Ireland’s migration system which party leader Peadar Tóibín says is required to “properly deal with immigration”.
“The Border Agency will protect our borders, strictly and speedily process applications, and return applicants who fail,” the party says.
Aontú will create a new Irish Border Agency to properly deal with immigration.
— Aontú (@AontuIE) October 2, 2024
The Border Agency will protect our borders, strictly and speedily process applications, and return applicants who fail.#CompassionCommonsense. pic.twitter.com/t2e9DAqCwo
Deputy Tóibín said Aontú had consistently raised what he described as “serious problems” in the Government approach to immigration through parliamentary questions. He accused the Government of “breathtaking incompetence” in dealing with the immigration issue.
He said the party had opposed the EU Asylum and Migration Pact, and would establish a border agency to deal with all immigration matters, and have special courts to ensure that applications were dealt with within 12 weeks.
Mr Tóibín said the party would also campaign for an Irish Sea border at the airports and ferry ports in Northern Ireland.
“Anyone purposely destroying travel documents should not enter the State. All those who receive a deportation order should be deported, except in rare instances on humanitarian grounds,” the Aontú manifesto says.
The party is seeking a single border agency which would recruit “thousands more staff” that would act as a one-stop shop for migration, border policy, deportations, accommodation and enforcement.
Mr Tóibin said Aontú had “common sense” policies that were formulated by listening to people rather than the “political cartel and metropolitan elite that is making decisions oblivious to the needs of the people”.
The latest figures from IPAS suggest that the number of asylum seekers is set to almost double in 2024, with more than 32,000 people now in asylum accommodation.
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