The Government has yet to apply for any financial assistance from a €9.8 billion EU Asylum fund aimed at countering “irregular migration, enhancing effective, safe and dignified return and readmission, and promoting and contributing to effective initial reintegration in third countries.”
The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) aims to boost national capacities and improve procedures for migration management, as well as to enhance solidarity and responsibility sharing between EU Member States.
The Fund also aims to further boost “national capacities,” in particular through emergency assistance and relocation mechanisms.
However, Minister for Children; Equality; Disability; Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman now been confirmed to Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan that Ireland has so far failed to reclaim any expenditure related to “Specific Objective 3” under the AMIF 2021-2027 programme.
The AMIF 2021-2027 Programme, at both EU and national levels, is comprised of four Specific Objectives*,
The four SOs are:
(1) strengthening and developing all aspects of the Common European Asylum System, including its external dimension;
(2) strengthening and developing legal migration to the Member States in accordance with their economic and social needs, and promoting and contributing to the effective integration and social inclusion of third-country nationals;
(3) contributing to countering irregular migration, enhancing effective, safe and dignified return and readmission, and promoting and contributing to effective initial reintegration in third countries;
(4) enhancing solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility between the Member States, in particular as regards those most affected by migration and asylum challenges, including through practical cooperation.
Ireland did however claim €4,176,633.82 under the previous 2014-2020 AMIF programme for Specific Objective 3 activities related to the removal from Ireland of non-nationals in respect of whom deportation orders have issued and who are nationals of non-EEA countries:
“We are now three years into the new AMIF programme and despite the multi-billion cost to Ireland in terms of coping with the level of asylum, our Government has still not claimed one cent back. I want clarity on why that is happening and what is going on. Is it sheer incompetence or is there another reason. I will certainly be pursuing this matter further,” said Deputy Nolan.
In response to Deputy Nolan’s parliamentary question the Department of Integration also says that deportation orders issue for many reasons and not just to failed international protection applicants, and “it is not possible to separate out the failed international protection applications specifically.”