Irish Times journalist Kitty Holland has said that many NGO staff working with asylum seekers in Ireland are well aware that there are significant numbers of economic migrants deliberately posing as asylum seekers in order to come to Ireland.
During an interview on an episode of the In the News podcast, Holland said that NGO workers were aware that significant numbers of asylum applicants in Ireland were indeed posing as such because they see this as the only legal way to enter the country.
Speaking on the show Holland said, “you will hear a lot of the the NGO people who are working with the, particularly the homeless asylum seekers in the tents and that kind of thing, so just saying that, you know, yes, a lot of people who are coming in are applying for asylum because that’s the only legal way they can actually get into the country and they will admit themselves, they’re here to make a better life.”
Speaking on whether concessions should be made in terms of allowing for broader applications for work permits Holland said:
“So there have been calls to look at opening up other legal routes into the country because you know, frankly, we do need the workers you know, so wouldn’t it be great if people didn’t have to go through the hell of applying for asylum and, and all this stress and strain and probably possibly failing in their asylum application and being deported?”
“I’m sure calls for that will grow louder” she said adding that as the EU Migration Pact which she called a “robust and effective new migration pact” comes into force “there should be ways to allow people to come into the country legally.”
She elaborated saying, “I mean, we do have, you know, thousands of work permits issued every year that maybe there should be sort of a more general work permits for people to come in to work as deliveroo drivers or to work in, you know, less skilled sectors, but who wants to make a contribution or just want to start a new life?”
As Gript previously reported, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the majority of asylum claims made in Ireland are not genuine.
In March Varadkar said that, “The real struggle that we’re having at the moment is just to keep up with the numbers that are coming in. And the numbers are very, very significant and part of what we have to do is better controls at our borders and we’re doing that, turning around decisions more quickly so that those who are entitled to status get it and those who don’t are asked to leave the state,”.
Varadkar said that while 38 – 40% of those claiming asylum were “genuine” the majority were not genuine claims.
The latest figures from the Department of Integration show that despite the lengthening of the list of designated safe countries and the ongoing lack of available accommodation for international protection applicants, May saw the highest influx of asylum seekers to date this year.
As Gript recently reported, the number of international protection applications made in May 2024 was more than double that number for the same month last year at 1,916 compared to 734 for 2023.
The figures show the number of people claiming asylum in Ireland rose by 1,182 compared to figures for the month of May 2023 with the highest group population being single males.
The total number of asylum applicants so far this year is currently 8,694 with on average 56 daily, and 395 weekly arrivals.
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