This coming Tuesday, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan is expected to bring a number of memos to the weekly Cabinet meeting on immigration-related issues, including a plan that would see asylum seekers convicted of serious crimes having their rights to reside in the State revoked.
It is further understood that individuals who are deemed to be refugees but who have been on social welfare in the previous 2 years, or who are in debt, will not be able to apply for citizenship.
Currently, refugees granted status by the Minister can apply for naturalised citizenship after three years of legal residence in Ireland, also requiring 12 months immediately prior to their application and being over 18.
Speaking on the last day of the G20 summit in South Africa, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that Ireland could not be an “outlier” on immigration and that asylum rules should be “tightened”.
He also noted that social welfare regulations would exempt those who have received maternity benefits, but stressed the need for reforms in other domains.
“This is a modest enough overhaul, but an important one,” he said.
“It’s fair and it’s robust, and it’s also aligning with what’s happening elsewhere.
“We’ve always taken a humanitarian approach, but I think there is a necessary tightening up that is required in terms of both the asylum process and in terms of the citizenship process in Ireland.”
He added: “That’s, in essence, what is envisaged by these reforms. They did come before the party leaders and also before the Cabinet subcommittee. So we’ve discussed these in relative detail.”
He also argued that Ireland is currently an outlier that handles such situations very differently.
“We see what’s happening in the UK, even though we were looking at these reforms before the UK’s latest reforms. There are knock-on effects and consequences to what others do – that’s the reality.
“We have to be realistic about it, and we have to be firm about it. And also, we have to accelerate – and we are – the processes.
“It’s taken too long historically for people to have their asylum applications processed and concluded. We’ve now made a lot of progress on the first phase of that. The appeals stage is being staffed up.
“Minister O’Callaghan has particular plans to enhance the resources there so that we get a faster timeline in terms of appeals as well, so people aren’t waiting for prolonged periods of time.”
Asked why people from countries like Botswana need visas to enter Ireland, Martin replied that the system can otherwise be “exploited a bit” and can result in “certain migratory patterns”.
It is understood that the Irish government is moving to quickly adapt the country’s migration laws, in part because of a tightening of the UK’s rules by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Government. The fear is that a hardening of the UK’s policy would cause more asylum claims in the nearest jurisdiction of Ireland, overwhelming the system beyond its limits.