The “far-right” will try to “capitalise” on the issue of immigration in the upcoming general election, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has warned.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin at the launch of the Green Party’s election campaign, the Integration Minister outlined his plans for establishing a dedicated “migration agency” that would deal with all things asylum-related.
CALL TO ESTABLISH A DEDICATED ASYLUM AGENCY
“We’ve put forward our proposal that we need a migration agency in Ireland,” he said, adding: “This is the approach adopted in almost every single European country – that there’s a dedicated state organisation responsible for both the processing of international protection applicants, and the sourcing of accommodation as well.”
O’Gorman further acknowledged that Ireland is “going to see higher levels of migration going forward.”
“WE KNOW WE’RE GOING TO SEE HIGHER LEVELS OF MIGRATION GOING FORWARD”
“We know we’re going to see higher levels of migration going forward in the same way every other European county is,” he said.
“The system that I inherited wasn’t fit for purpose when we were seeing 2,000 or 3,000 people seeking international protection every year, it’s certainly not fit for purpose when we’re seeing 16,000 to 20,000 people seeking international protection.
“So that’s why we will argue for a core migration agency that will deal with those two functions – both the sourcing of accommodation and the speeding up of processing of international protection applicants as well.”
“FAR-RIGHT” WILL TRY TO “CAPITALISE” ON MIGRATION
He went on to add that what he described as “far-right” political parties would seek to spin the immigration issue to their advantage in the upcoming election, but claimed that the issue was coming up less frequently in recent months.
“I’ve no doubt that parties on the far-right will try and capitalise on this issue,” he said.
“What I’ve certainly found on the doors is that its prevalence coming up has decreased over the last number of months. And I think a lot of that is due to the fact that we are now able to accommodate people much more quickly.
“We’re not seeing the tented cities we saw on our streets earlier this year. And that’s because the new accommodation strategy that I brought in in March is delivering our ability to accommodate people who previously we couldn’t.”
O’GORMAN DEFENDS GIVING MEDICAL CARDS TO ASYLUM APPLICANTS
Yesterday, in an interview on The Group Chat podcast with Gavan Reilly, O’Gorman defended the policy of giving all asylum seekers automatic medical cards.
He said that often individuals were coming to Ireland “with absolutely nothing”, and given that they were unable to work for the first six months after working here under the current system, and only received a €38 payment per week, it was right to give them medical cards.
“Ensuring that we can at least meet any medical needs they have is appropriate in my view.”